Chapter 7
Masquerade
Barry glanced at his watch and shook his head. Did everyone else feel this sense of disgruntled energy when he kept them waiting? He made a mental note to try harder to get places on time but, come on, when he could run nearly as fast as the speed of sound what was the point of taking the time to get ready when he could literally wait until the last minute? He looked at his watch again and then smiled a smug smile when Sage finally walked through the front door of S.T.A.R. Labs.
After bringing Sage around the group for the first time, she had found any time she could to go back to the Lab for more tests and to observe what it was exactly that they did there. More often than not she would sit off to the side and wait and listen to them go over their "scientific mumbo jumbo", as she put it. He was surprised she was so patient about it all, not missing the way she fidgeted and shook as time went by and his abilities were tested but day after day she came back and it was nice to have someone around, someone like him, to go through this with.
"What took you so long?" he teased, pushing his lanky frame away from the wall he had been leaning against. "I gave you a head start and I even took the long way to get here."
"Keep bragging, Running Man," Sage replied, fixing her helmet hair with her fingers. She knocked his arm with her shoulder as she walked past him and smirked. "You may be fast on your feet but that doesn't excuse all the times you've been late."
"Maybe not but you can't be mad at a guy who gets you Big Belly Burger," Barry said, pulling the bag out from behind his back as he fell into step with her. "It's your favorite. Bacon Chili." He swung the bag in the air above her nose and then yanked it away when she reached up for it. "Am I forgiven?"
"Yeah, yeah. Give it here!" Sage replied, jumping up for the bag. Barry laughed and relented, giving her the bag. She nearly ripped it out of his hands to get to the food inside. Her face was stuffed and cheeks puffed out due to the amount of food by the time they walked into the lab where Cisco was spinning around in a swivel chair. A lollipop stick hung from the corner of his mouth. "'Ey 'Is'o," Sage greeted him with a full mouth.
"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Cisco asked, dragging his feet along the ground to keep from spinning. He pressed his hands to the side of his head and blinked a couple of times.
"Sage has been begging me to see what the suit and I can do. So I decided to humor her," Barry replied.
"Yes!" Cisco said, clapping his hands together. "Oh, yes! Brilliant idea!" He whirled around in his chair and turned on the computers that were laid out in front of him. Sage took one of the empty seats and continued eating as Barry stood behind Cisco, looking at the screens. "But maybe we shouldn't," he said, stopping himself. "Dr. Wells wants to study you some more. What happens if you spontaneously combust due to all the friction?"
"That'd be an interesting way to go," Sage spoke up. "He'd probably explode in red. Oh! He'd be like a firework!" She extended her fingers in a flourish as she made the noise of a firework exploding, "Boom!"
"Nothing's happened to me so far," Barry reasoned, "and we can use this as an. . .experiment of sorts. To watch my levels and see how well I do under stress and see how fast I can go." He nudged Cisco's shoulder. "Scientists need to do lots of experiments, right?"
As much as he tried to fight it a slow smile appeared on Cisco's face until he was left grinning with excitement. "Okay! Just a few tests and then you come right back here, alright?" Cisco replied, turning back to the computer.
"Are you that afraid of Wells?" Sage asked.
"Not Dr. Wells, Caitlin," Cisco replied. "You do not want to get on her bad side. Believe me. I dunno how Ronnie wasn't afraid of her…" his voice trailed off and then he gave his head a shake. He cleared his throat and pointed to the computer screen. "Anyway, with this mapping application we can track your every move and be alerted to troubles that arise. For example…" Cisco's eyebrows knitted together when he noticed a blip on screen. "Well, you're in luck we have a—"
"215!" Sage interrupted. Her hazel brown eyes lifted to Barry as they said in unison, "Carjacking."
Papers flew off of the desk due to Barry's speed as he came to a screeching halt in the room after having changed into his scarlet uniform. Sage had to fix her hair again due to the wind that Barry created and once she moved aside the curtain of her hair her eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sight of him. Her lips bounced up and down at the corners as she tried to settle on a facial expression before finally letting a snort pass through her lips.
"It looks good, really it does," she said while waving her hand at the look Cisco shot her way. "It's very…slimming. Not that you need the help in that area, Barry Beanstalk," she added, nodding at his thin and lanky frame that was now highlighted due to the tight suit he donned.
"Are you going to make fun of me or are you going to watch me do my thang?" Barry asked while shaking out his limbs. Cisco snorted around his lollypop and shook his head.
"So long as you don't say 'thang' again," Sage replied, adding in a snap at the end for emphasis. Barry laughed and in the time it took for them to blink he disappeared. "But that doesn't mean I won't make fun of you," she muttered in a sing-song voice once the papers in the room settled again. She slid her chair over so she and Cisco were huddled around a computer. "So we can see him on this screen?"
"Yeah. That fast moving dot right there is Barry." Cisco pointed at the screen and they both watched in concentrated silence as it steadily moved across the mapping layout of the city in front of them. "Wait, wasn't he supposed to stop here?" Sage asked, pointing to the pulsating dot on the screen that Barry's speeding dot had passed.
"Yeahhhhh," Cisco replied, leaning back in his chair, locking his fingers behind his head. "Barry has a problem with braking. He can run really fast but then more often than not he'll miss his target."
"You didn't make him shoes that can help him stop on a dime?" Sage asked, her eyebrows lifting. "C'mon, that's, like, rule number one! They'd think of this in superhero comics. It can't be too hard, right? You'd need shoes with good traction and frictoin or something? Right?" She paused and then a moment later she groaned and held her head in her hands. "Ugh! Now I'm sounding like him!"
Cisco laughed and spun around in his chair, using the motion to help him stand. He hurried out of the room and Sage used her feet to turn her left and right while stuffing fries into her mouth and watched Barry's blip still moving along the streets. It must be cool, running that fast. Feeling the wind tugging at you and everything moving by in a blur and getting to places in the time span it took for someone to stand up. She couldn't even conjure up any sort of thought that could rightfully paint any sort of picture of whatever it was he was experiencing.
"No, Barry, you missed it by a mile," Cisco was saying as he walked back into the room. An earpiece sat in his left ear and he held a tablet in his hand. In his other fist was an assortment of lollipops. At the sight of the candy, Sage abandoned her fries and jumped up to see which one she wanted. She settled for a Sour Apple Blowpop.
"Ugh! Sorry! What's the fastest route from here?" Barry's voice filtered in through the speakers set up on the tabletop.
"Uhhh…take a left and then five streets down a right and then just run until you get there. You'll meet up with them in no time," Cisco replied, quickly scanning the map that was up on the computer.
"I'm on it!" Barry replied.
Sage and Cisco watched in silence as the blinking dot that was Barry stopped moving and then went back in the other direction. The only sound in the room came from Barry's rapid heavy breathing that filtered in through the speakers.
The two jumped at the sound of metal crunching and bending and tires squealing. Sage's eyes widened and her heart hammered in her chest. Was Barry okay? Was he hurt? Did something happen? All of her questions and the fears that moved rapidly through her mind stopped the minute static crackled through the speaker.
"Okay, the robbers have been caught," Barry spoke through the speaker. "Although…the owner of the car may want to get the hood checked out."
"You may want to get your brakes checked out, more like," Sage replied.
Barry ignored her comment. "Come on, I'm just stretching my legs. Anything else to hit?"
"Check that police scanner," Cisco said, pointing to the computer to Sage's left.
Clutching the lollipop between her teeth, she turned to the computer he had been pointing at. She grimaced for a second when she saw the setup. It was much more advanced than she was used to working with. She only dealt with old Dell Desktops at work and a decent HP laptop that was passed on from Iris. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard and her eyebrows knitted together as she stared at the screen.
"Cisco…?" she half turned in her chair and turned pleading eyes over to him. Chuckling, he leaned over and went through a series of button pressing until the application came up on the screen. "Thanks." She leaned forward and scanned the application. "Uh…we got a 211 at the jewelry store at the corner of Lincoln and Cherry. Be careful, you don't know what kind of guns they have."
"If I'm faster than a train, I have to be faster than a speeding bullet," Barry commented.
"We don't know the full extent of your abilities yet, Barry. Might not want to risk it," Cisco jumped in.
"I'll be fine guys, really. Just watch me."
"You know…it would be kind of cool if he could do it," Cisco said slowly, twiddling a pencil between his fingers. He lifted his eyebrows and looked over at Sage. Any attempts at trying to be serious didn't work as her face split into a wide smile that he matched.
After that it snowballed. Every time Barry finished a "mission" Cisco would send him on another one. Barry took care of petty thefts, purse snatching, reckless driving, drug pushing, and assault before he was sent on a bigger mission. A fire had broken out in an apartment building on Western and 3rd and the firemen assigned to the area were running into traffic.
"Ooh! I can help on this one," Sage spoke up. "I can take some of the fire out." She nearly trembled in excitement. It was perfect! After all, what other way was there to gather information other than to run experiments? And seeing how she held up in a burning building would be the best experiment to conduct, she thought. It made sense, even.
"Sage, you wouldn't be able to make it here on time," Barry pointed out. "And what would protect you from the flames and smoke? And anyway, it's known that the makeup of ice wouldn't stand a chance against fire. It melts, remember?"
"I could freeze some of the joints to help keep the building up. Doesn't it get weak if flames have been attacking it for too long?" Sage asked. "I can help, really!" She insisted.
"It's best if you stay there. Let me handle this. I know what I'm doing."
Sage bristled and sat up straighter in her chair. "And I don't?" she huffed, crossing her arms, even though he couldn't see her. Her cheeks puffed up as she pressed her lips together. Who was he to say what she could and couldn't do? Okay, maybe he was right in that she wouldn't get there as fast as him but on her bike she could move through traffic much faster than a big fire truck could. And maybe she wasn't fully in control of what she was doing, still finding computer keys sticking to her fingers if she even attempted using the computer without her gloves. She gave the term "computer freeze" a whole new definition.
"I don't have time to argue about this. You're better off staying there. Trust me." Sage didn't even try to protest. When Barry spoke like that—like his words had grown hands that were physically forcing her into her seat—she knew there was no sense in arguing with him. His mind had been made and once Barry Allen made up his mind it was nearly impossible to change.
So she sat back and turned this way and that in her swivel chair while watching the screen, silently cursing Barry Allen with every word under the sun she could think of. She could be an asset. She could be his sidekick if he needed one. She shouldn't need his permission and yet, there he was basically drawing a line separating her from the action. She could help. Why be at S.T.A.R. Labs if that wasn't the point? To find a way for her to help?
She furiously sucked on her blowpop, ignoring the sting in her tongue due to cutting it on the sharp bits of candy in the cracked surface. The sour apple taste hurt the sides of her face every now and then but it was a pain she welcomed rather than the pain that someone else inflicted upon her. Yes, perhaps she was being a bit overdramatic. After all, it wasn't a bad thing that someone was looking out for her but still! Was it so bad she wanted her chance to do some good? She sure as heck wouldn't overshoot her targets.
"Are you there yet?" Cisco asked while pushing a key on a nearby keyboard to bring up a picture of the apartment building in question.
"It's Barry. He doesn't get anywhere on time," Sage replied, pulling the lollipop out of her mouth to use it to gesture around.
"What are you doing?" Caitlin's suspicious question made Sage freeze in her chair. Cisco, in comparison, whirled around in his chair and turned off the screens that were displaying Barry's location and the map of the city. She sat still through Caitlin's interrogation, hoping that somehow if she stayed still long enough that maybe Caitlin wouldn't notice her. But even she couldn't help but cringe at Cisco's horrible attempts at lying. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see right through him and it took Caitlin only a few seconds to see through his ruse and call Barry back to the lab.
"What's the big deal?" Sage asked, shoving her lollipop back into her mouth, moving the candy to the side with her tongue. "We're just trying to help people out. Make the place safer. And…and test out Barry's powers."
"We don't know if his powers are temporary or if he'll come crashing down soon," Caitlin pointed out, standing at her full height as she stepped away from the computer desk. "We don't know what will happen to him. And for you two to have him out there like that is irresponsible. Something could have gone wrong."
"But nothing did," Sage reasoned. "Everyone's okay because of him. Barry's okay too." At that moment she felt her hair fly forward due to the sudden wind of Barry coming into the room. "See? He's fine," she said, pointing at him over her shoulder.
"Who do you guys think you are?" Caitlin asked, exasperation wrapped around her words as she paced through the lab.
"I'm the eyes and ears and he's the feet," Cisco replied.
"And I'm just the chick that hangs around and eats candy," Sage added, removing the lollipop from her mouth and waved it in the air.
"Cute," Caitlin said. Sage didn't miss the dismissive tone to her voice so she slumped in her chair, feeling peculiarly like her five-year-old self again. Note to self: Don't ever bother Caitlin. And she followed that note to herself as Caitlin and Barry argued back and forth about him using his powers for good vs only using it to contain metahumans. Eventually Wells was brought into the argument, surprising them all for they had not even heard him come into the room.
There was something about the way Wells spoke that demanded everyone's attention and respect in such a way Sage had never seen before. It was different with Joe and Barry and her dad. Joe could use his police no nonsense tone of voice to get people in line. It was what he was used to. Barry went for the nice guy approach, the one where you want to hear what he has to say because he's passionate and zealous about it. They made her father look like a monster of the night in comparison. Her father had a very strict, no-ifs-ands-or-buts way of speaking to everyone and when it was directed at her it made her want to curl into a ball and hide, an everyday occurrence at the Moreaux house.
Dr. Wells, in comparison, had a very calculated and clipped way of speaking that cut straight down to the core of it that made Sage listen to him with rapt attention. She could see on Barry's face as Wells spoke that he was getting frustrated having to be held back. Having Caitlin telling him not to go too hard was one thing, but his idol telling him? That was something completely different. Maybe if Beyoncé ever spoke to Sage the same way she'd end up as crushed as Barry was at the moment.
"You two are the only ones, the only Metahumans, around that we can see what lengths the particle accelerator went to to change your very own molecular makeup," Harrison commented after a moment of silence, sliding his blue eyes from Sage to Barry. "We cannot do that if you push past your limits and put yourself in danger. Do you understand?"
"Yeah," Barry grumbled.
"And Cisco, I'm a bit surprised at you," Harrison added, turning his chair around to face Cisco. "I understand the excitement surrounding Barry and his abilities but this isn't a game. We are dealing with a delicate situation and we must go forward accordingly."
"You're right, I'm sorry," Cisco muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "It won't happen again, Dr. Wells."
"I should hope not," Harrison replied. Cisco appeared to shrink beneath Harrison's stern gaze, like a punished child. Harrison saved Cisco from his intense stare and then changed it over to Sage. "Now, Ms. Moreaux, if you have the time I would like to see some more of your abilities. Dr. Snow, if you could watch and record any enigmas and compare it to the information gathered yesterday."
"Of course, Dr. Wells," Caitlin replied with a nod of her head. Giving the sheepish trio one last withering look, she stalked off; her heels clacking on the floor along the way.
"Do I get to go out and fight some crime too?" Sage asked while getting to her feet. "Do I get my own suit? I was thinking, red's good for Barry but I think blue would look better on me. Arrow's already got the green market covered and we need something a little lighter—"
"Now is not the time to think about heroics," Harrison told her, stopping his wheelchair in his tracks. He laced his fingers together and folded his palms across his stomach. "From what we have seen so far you have a long way to go when it comes to controlling your abilities. Thinking about using them to the same extent of Barry is not your end goal right now. Containing and controlling. That is your main objective. You'd like to be able to not have to wear your gloves anymore and to be able to touch anything without the fear of harming it, yes?" With a sheepish expression and reddening cheeks, Sage nodded.
Harrison wheeled himself out of the room, heading away from where Caitlin had disappeared to. Every now and then he glanced over his shoulder to see if he was being followed. Thankfully he wasn't. He took the elevator up to a higher level of the lab, a restricted section of sorts. The elevator dinged, signaling that he had reached the desired floor. Putting pressure on the joystick attached to the right armrest, Harrison wheeled himself forward, navigating the halls until he stopped in front of a blank wall.
He placed his hand on a section of the wall and before him it slid open, revealing a door. Harrison easily navigated his way past the door and through a force field of sorts without any hesitancy. The walls opened once more to reveal a futuristic room lit up by a bright white light. With a smirk stretching across his face, Harrison placed his weight on the arms of his wheelchair and got to his feet. He paused to take off his glasses and set them on the seat he once occupied.
"Gideon, the usual please," Harrison addressed the face being projected on the wall.
"Or course, Dr. Wells," Gideon replied.
A second later a projection of a newspaper popped up in Harrison's face. The date read April 24th 2024. Harrison's eyes jumped from headline to headline on the paper, most importantly the biggest one on the page: FLASH MISSING VANISHES IN CRISIS.
"Everything appears in order," Harrison muttered. He lifted his hand and held it above the newspaper. Moving his hand from one side to the other, the newspaper changed to one of a different date. 2015. Like the last newspaper, the headlines on this one jumped out at Harrison and made him smile: HISTORIC BLIZZARD BATTERS CENTRAL CITY. Keywords jumped out from the newspaper article; death tolls, damage prices, record-low temperatures, power outages, snow drifts, bitter cold, high wind, wind chill, and stalled city. "Good. So long as we stay the course everything will work out the way it needs to."
# # #
"Your previous trial displayed better results than this one," Harrison announced, turning away from the computer he had been looking at to gauge readings. "Do it again. You're losing focus."
"Probably because I've done this a thousand times," Sage muttered under her breath, flexing her fingers. She kicked at the ground, her boots scuffing against the shiny floor. She pulled a face and then twisted the tip of her shoe this way and that to erase the mark. She ran the back of her hand against her forehead to brush away the beads of sweat that had gathered on her hairline.
She shook out her hands and feet and blew out one long breath. Her eyes locked on with the target that had been set up in the distance. It was a crude thing, a simple piece of poster board sitting atop of a fold-up display tripod. It made her feel like she was back in class a little. But this was better than sitting around in a dusty classroom with biology facts being drilled into her head, even though in both cases she was still being told what to do and when to do it.
"Just think about turning that bull's-eye into a giant ice sculpture," Cisco said.
Sage shot him a look and then looked around the area of the makeshift bulls'eye where slick spots littered the floor like black ice on asphalt. Sighing, she shook out her hands again and then focused on the "target" in front of her. She held her hands out, palms flat and waited. She pressed her lips together and held her breath as the seconds ticked by.
The sound of her heart beat pulsed like a ticking clock in the quiet room. Her fingertips tingled and a sense of cold spread from her fingertips to the length of her fingers and flooded her palms. A blue glow wrapped around her hands and she gritted her teeth, feeling her heart pound against her chest. The once steady beats had begun to slow over time but she ignored it in favor of putting all of her attention on the exercise.
A beam of bright blue light shot out from between her hands. Like last time the force of it was enough to make her go sliding backwards but she didn't fall over this time. She managed to keep her balance by bending her knees and digging the heels of her boots into the linoleum. But the ice blast was still off kilter and struck the wall behind the target.
"Darn," Sage muttered, dropping her hands. "Missed again."
Harrison sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "There is no sense in having you exert yourself. Your arms were shaky and your aim was off as a result. You're only getting worse. That's enough for today."
What? Her head jerked up, her mouth dropping open in surprise. That couldn't be it! She could do more, she knew she could. She could do better. She had to do better. "No! Come on! I can do it," Sage protested. "I'm just…I'm just nervous. Let me try again. Please."
"You've had twenty trials already," Caitlin pointed out. "They've all ended with the same result," she added, looking at the clipboard tucked into her elbow. "And besides, don't you need to get to school?"
"School?" Sage repeated, her head tilting much like a curious dog's would. A few seconds ticked by and then her chest inhaled with her sharp gasp. "Oh God! I still have school!" She nearly brought her hands up to her face in her distress but stopped herself, appearing as if she were about to slap herself before changing her mind. Ignoring Cisco's comment of her potentially "spending too much time with Barry", she grabbed her gloves off the nearby table and shoved her hands into them. "So, uh, about the suit and everything—"
"All in due time, Ms. Moreaux," Harrison said, a distinct dismissive tone to his words. He peered at her from overtop of his glasses. "All in due time."
Sage's shoulders slumped. She was getting tired of having stop signs held in her face and hearing those four words. But this was Harrison Wells she was talking to so he must know what he was talking about. He didn't seem like the sort that just liked to hear himself speak. "Okay, fine," she sighed.
"If you could find time to come back in tomorrow I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that we would appreciate it," he continued, directing his attention to a piece of paper he flipped over to read. She paused. As if sensing her looking at him he added, "Research opportunities like this don't come around every day, after all. It's a good opportunity to get a better understanding of the human body and its evolution through extraordinary circumstances. We cannot take this lightly."
The slight tension in the room was broken when Sage yanked on one of the electrodes stuck to her and released a loud yelp at the pain coming from it. Cisco covered his smile with his hand, partially so Sage wouldn't see him laughing at her expense and partially to keep Caitlin from throwing that admonishing look his way that she had perfected long ago.
Bidding the group of scientists goodbye, Sage walked out of the laboratory. She only made it a few paces past the doorway when she had to rest her weight on the wall to keep herself up. Her fingers scrabbled against the smooth surface of the wall for anything to hold onto. Her free hand grabbed at her chest as she felt her heartbeat slow deep within her chest. Her knees knocked and her legs wobbled as she gasped for air. She did her best to slow her breathing to aid her heartbeat but it felt as if a vice was slowly pressing down on her neck, cutting off her airway.
She tried to take in deep, slow breaths to keep herself somewhat calm but these attacks, no matter how often she had them, they left her as a trembling ball of fear. This time being no exception. Both hands pressed against the cool flooring beneath her now to keep her up, her legs gave way not too long after the 'attack' first started.
Gritting her teeth, she reached forward and dragged herself across the floor. Her legs, useless as they were, slowed her down. She breathed ragged breaths as she pulled herself steadily along the floor. Little by little she dragged herself, her head swimming and her chest aching. After what felt like an eternity she made it to the elevator and pulled herself inside before the doors closed. She jabbed the button for the first floor and slowly counted in her head to keep herself from panicking. She just needed some heat. She just needed to get outside.
Dragging herself from the elevator to the front doors felt much longer than moving from the hallway to the elevator even though salvation was in sight. She pressed her weight into her fingertips, using the traction to help pull herself forward. Almost there. Just a few more feet. Black started to creep in the corners of her vision and everything tilted and swayed.
"Almost…there…"
Her fingers brushed the base of the glass door. She reached an arm up for the door handle, using any strength she had left. She stretched and stretched, extending her fingers, lifting her body off the ground. She could feel the tingling in her fingertips again. Almost there…
Sage used the last of her energy to brace herself before slamming her face into the concrete on the other side of the door. Holding herself up on her elbow, she stretched her arm out and slapped her palm against the part of the sidewalk bathed in sunlight. She let out a long, relieved breath as she felt the sun heat up her cold skin and seep up through her arm, as if sunbeams were racing straight towards her heart.
Ah, sweet relief.
# # #
"Wait, run this by me again." Iris looked up from her half painted toenails and across the room to see her cousin pausing on whatever it was that she was drawing. They were having their typical Girl's Night In – a night filled with making dinner together (shepherd's pie), sitting in front of the TV to watch American Idol auditions, making cookies and regretting eating all of them later, and painting their nails as they talked about anything and everything that came to mind. It started whenever Sage visited Central City during her breaks in the school year and, now that they were living together, it was a weekly tradition they looked forward to. It was especially much needed after the long week they've been through. "You're changing your thesis topic from writing about Simon Stagg, something that's real—or was depending on who you're asking—to writing about some red streak?"
"Yeah," Iris replied, ducking her head to finish applying bright purple nailpolish to her big toe. "And the Red Streak is real. It has to be. How else do you explain all these news reports about a streak showing up before a mugger is stopped or someone is rescued from a fire?"
"Mass hysteria?" Sage suggested, spinning her pencil around in her fingers. "Mass vision problems? Floaters are a thing, you know. Sign of retinal detachment."
"I think you have acute brain detachment," Iris teased. Sage stuck out her tongue. "I think it's a good topic. New stories are coming out every day about him."
"What makes you think it's a him?" Sage asked. "Could be a girl."
"It's not a girl," Iris said dismissively. "It's a boy. I can tell. Boys are more into the superhero, saving the world sort of thing anyway."
"Hey, even us normal people want to be superheroes. You can't tell me you've never thought having super powers would be cool," Sage said. "Or your own costume and your own awesome name and people looking to you to help and make you feel…important and needed."
"Aww," Iris cooed. She swung her legs off the bed and sat on the color next to her cousin. Wrapping an arm around her shoulder she said, "I think you're important and I need you."
"Thanks," Sage said with a roll of her eyes despite laughing. "But that's not what I meant. See, look at this." She turned around the sketchbook she was drawing into show Iris. "Wouldn't you feel so awesome wearing a cool suit like this? Like Superman! You could do anything and no one could tell you not to."
Iris took the sketchbook into her hands and looked over the brightly colored drawing that sat on the paper. She smiled at the sight of the suit drawn on the figure on the paper. "I'm loving the boots," she said, nodding in approval at the black knee-highs.
"Yeah? I knew they'd be a good touch," Sage said with a smile.
"So you can go along with this but you're not going to believe that the Red Streak is real?" Iris asked. She knocked against Sage's shoulder. "I smell a hypocrite."
"There's a difference, Ris. Take Starling City for example. They have the Arrow. A normal guy who shoots people down like Robin Hood. You're talking about a red streak, something that moves fast enough that no one can see it that well. That's just…"
"Impossible?" Iris filled in for her, her eyebrows lifting. "Hasn't Barry always taught us that nothing is impossible?"
"If Barry's taught me anything it's that I have mastered the ability to fall asleep with my eyes open," Sage replied, setting her sketchbook aside. Leaning forward she grabbed the empty bowl that had held popcorn only a few minutes before and then got to her feet.
"Speaking of Barry," Iris said slowly, rubbing her palms against the knees of her pajamas pants, "have you noticed he's been acting a bit strange lately?"
"He's not acting any different than the Barry I know," Sage replied, now spinning the bowl around between her fingers.
"Yeah, but…I can't help but feel like he's keeping something from me," Iris continued. "He's my best friend. I know when he's upset, I know when he's happy, I even know when he's hungry! I know everything about him but whenever I try to ask him about it he keeps…deflecting."
"Maybe he just needs some space. People need space sometimes. But, right now, we need more popcorn."
Iris pouted as Sage stepped over her legs and left the room. Her pout changed to her pursing her lips. There was no way Barry needed space. Ever since they met she and Barry had been attached at the hip. Even as they grew older and their interests pulled them in different directions they were still close. Hell, she visited him at S.T.A.R. Labs any chance she could get that should have meant something to him. And yet he was running around and being secretive.
She sighed and pulled at a loose thread on her shirt. She knew she wasn't exactly the most truthful person in the world herself. She had kept her and Eddie being together a secret even after he woke up from his coma but come on! The news could have shocked him too badly. It would be hard enough for him to have to catch up on everything that he missed without the added change…
That's it! Iris laughed aloud and shook her head. That had to be it. Barry was acting strangely because he couldn't handle the fact that she had a new man in her life. She sighed. How could she not see it before? It all made sense, the way he turned away whenever they were together or his somewhat vield snide remarks about Eddie. It was just something they all had to get used to.
Jumping to her feet as best as she could, Iris then shuffled to the door on her heels. She made it halfway down the stairs, gripping the banister, when her father's hushed voice stopped her. Her eyebrows crinkled and her head tilted to the side as she listened to the hiss-like conversation.
"You're making too big a deal about this, Uncle Joe," Sage commented over the sound of popcorn kernels bursting in the microwave. "Nothing happened. I didn't get hurt."
"But you could have been," Joe replied. Iris recognized the tone he was using; it was his Detective Tone. "You can't just jump into things without understanding the risks and the danger involved."
"Ugh, you're such a buzz kill!" Iris could almost see Sage rolling her eyes despite a wall separating them. "Nothing happened! I'm fine. What's so wrong with me wanting to actually do something to help?"
"What's wrong is that you could get yourself killed. This isn't a game, Sage."
"I know that but…Uncle Joe, I have to do something. It's so boring just sitting around and doing nothing while everyone else gets to do something important. I want to do something important."
"Running into situations blind isn't the way to go." There was a pause—Iris guessed that her father was pinching the bridge of his nose—and he said, "You're acting just like your father."
The steady beeping of the microwave and the sporadic pops of the last kernels in the bag broke the otherwise thick silence that had fallen in the kitchen after Joe's statement. Iris could hear her heart beating clearly in her chest. She braced her hands against the wall as she leaned forward to hear what they were going to say.
"I'm nothing like my father," Sage hissed. Iris heard the quick succession of footsteps before the microwave door was yanked open which was then followed by a forceful rip of a paper bag and the distinct clacking of leftover kernels falling into the metal bowl.
"His impulsiveness is what landed him where he is right now. I don't want the same to happen to you."
"It won't, Uncle Joe. Because, unlike my father, I intend to do some good for others instead of masquerading a hero."
"Sage—"
"Stop telling me what to do! You and Barry—gah! You're not the boss of me! I can do what I want! That's why I came here, to get away from being told what to do all the time!"
"As long as you're living here you're going to do what I say! I'm just looking out for you."
"Well…look out for me less!"
Pushing away from the wall, Iris turned and raced up the stairs on her heels as quickly as possible. She had heard enough.
a/n - So I was a bit of a dummy and accidentally uploaded the prologue in for the last chapter when I added a note to the header section so now my review replies on that chapter are gone. -_-" Anyway! i'm back! Sorry for the long wait, life has been kicking my butt but here's the next chapter! It has a little bit of everybody but we're missing our favorite detective! But don't you worry, Eddie will be in soon. Also, coming up next is...Leonard Snart! The man we've all been waiting for (or have we been?) I can't wait for you all to see what I have planned for the next chapter! What did you think of this one? Please read and review!
Also, if you haven't yet check out Flash Fire and In a Flash under the DarkElements10 page. You won't regret it.
Review Replies
guest27 - Did she do it? Who knows? You'll find out in the future! Thanks for the review.
babyj - Phew! I'm glad to hear that the WestAllen scene was in character and authentic. I was a bit worried there. The article may be about Sage, it may not be. You'll find out in the future! Thanks so much for the review!