Christmas Day
As I turn on the coffee machine, I hear a knock on the door. It better not be Victoria again, her recent parties have been getting crazier and louder.
"What now Victo-" I sigh, and I find myself looking at Barry Allen, huh- this is new,
"I'm sorry- is this a bad time?" he says holding a bag,
"no, I just started to make coffee" I let him in, and closed the door behind him. I walk past him into the kitchen, as I opened the fridge Barry looks at the books on my shelf.
"nice selection- I enjoy this one" he pulls out a book,
"yes it is really nice" I say as I get out eggs, and ingredients to make an omelet. As the aroma of peppers, and tomatoes fill the air- my coffee pot beeps. Barry walks over to the machine,
"help yourself" I say when Barry opens his mouth
"thanks" he says, and grabs a red mug from the cabinet. I finish making my omelet, and Barry is sipping coffee
"Merry Holidays" I say, mimicking his flash voice, and Barry nearly chokes on his coffee because he's laughing so hard. I smile and continued to eat my omelet.
"your apartment is really nice, I wish mine was as good as this" he looks around, the island counter in my kitchen had a really nice view, we were looking right at the center of Central city.
"yeah, the guy selling it gave me a pretty good price" I put the plate in the sink, he keeps sipping his coffee.
"I know a person who has a nice apartment like this" he smiles, "how much did you get it for?" he asks
"um… 40,000 give or take 10,000" I say, Barry almost falls off the stool he's sitting on,
"what" he says dumbly
"my father left me a lot of money, and so did my mom. I bought this place in one go with my trust fund- other than that I don't touch the money they give me" I walk over to the couch, and got out a wrapped gift.
"Merry Christmas Barry" I hand him a box- there were 2 gifts inside, he in return hands me 2 boxes- a flat box, and a small box.
"the flat on is from Cisco and Caitlin, the small one is from me" he says. We open our gifts at the same time. I had gotten him a blanket that had a bolt of lightning on it, and a pair of red earphones to match the blanket. Barry got me 4 books, and a metal book mark, finally I got to Cisco's gift. I take off the bow, and peeled away the wrapping paper. I inhale sharply, and a little giggle escapes from my lips. Sitting in the flat box was a black suit, it was similar to Barry's but it had an empty circle on the chest, and I had a mask instead of a mask that covers my whole head.
"it's the final suit" Barry says, "It's equipped with weapons, has a earpiece built into the mask, and the cloth on the suit is really hard to tear. Cisco has your boots, and contacts that will help you see like a hawk" he smiles a small smile.
"I have gifts for Caitlin, and Cisco" I break the silence "let me get changed, and we can go give them gifts." when we finished, I grabbed my bag and keys "race you to the car" I said, and we went running (normal speed) out of the room.
"Happy Holidays- and Christmas if you celebrate it" I say, with a smile. I got Dr. Wells wine, got Cisco a new tablet/computer thing, and I got Caitlin a $100 gift card to Central City Mall.
"dude! This is like the newest model!" Cisco nearly drops the tablet "how did you get it?!" he exclaimed,
"oh you know me- I pulled some strings" I flip my hair, and batted my eyes a little. Barry chuckles, and Cisco beams.
"Oh Quinn!" Caitlin gives me a big hug, "this is too much!" she is so happy she's smiling for real. She quickly gets out a gift for me, "oh compared to your gift, mine is so lame" I opened the box, and it was a dove in a circle- it was like the one Alexander gave me,this universe really hates me. I smile, and gave Caitlin a hug, "this is amazing!" I smile, Caitlin didn't seem to notice the shift in my mood, but Cisco and Barry were silent.
"Well, my gift is pretty cool too" Cisco puffs out his chest, "this is Cisco glasses" he hands me a box "it monitors your vitals, shows your social media updates, you can record things, and all sorts of things" he smiles
"Can it shoot lasers?" I ask as a joke,
"Yeah- there's a green button- and then a notification will pop up" he looks so proud of himself.
"Wow Cisco- you've really outdone yourself" I give him a hug, and he says "Team Cisco for the win"
"I have Grandma Esther's eggnog- light on the Bourbon. Courtesy of Iris" Barry says, Wells' face changes.
"That's what I'm talking about" Cisco exclaimed,
"I better not drink and drive- I'll have some later" Dr. Wells says and drives out.
"Doctor Wells" I run after him, he didn't seem to hear me, "Doctor Wells" I tap him on the shoulder, and a current of electricity runs through me- it hurt, but I just smile at him.
"thanks for everything" I begin "Happy Christmas" I finish, and I walk away, the hair on my hand was standing straight up, and my finger was red from the shock.
-flashblack (Quinn, age 6)-
"Merry Christmas Quinn!" my father says, waking me up from a deep slumber.
"Daddy- did I miss Santa again?" I ask, rubbing my eyes, the fireplace was roaring, and the presents were everywhere.
"Santa came to tell me that he wanted to talk to you, but you were already asleep!" he exclaims, "we'll stay up together next year huh?" he says
"Okay" I answer, my father hands me a cup of hot chocolate, and my sister comes charging down the stairs
"Presents!" my sister comes charging into the room, she plums onto the couch, and the hot chocolate in my cup, spills onto my blanket
"Lacey!" I scream, as the hot liquid burned my hand, I felt tears prickle,
"Oh Quinny, I'm sorry" she gently takes the cup away from me, and pulls me into a hug, I smile at he,
"it's okay Lacey" I hear a click of a camera, and my father chuckling.
"come on girls" my father chuckles, "let's see if you got that lego city set"
"what is wrong with Dr. Wells?' I ask, shoving my hands into my pockets.
"he used to love Christmas, but this accident was before Christmas, and it kinda ruined Christmas for him" Cisco explains
"I'll go get him a gift, that'll cheer him up" Caitlin says
"I'll come with you" I add, "girl to girl bonding huh?' I smile. Caitlin nods, and she grabbed her coat,
"let's take my car" she says, and we walk out of the room
Flashback for Quinn (age 15)
"Mom, today is not the day to get drunk!" I exclaim taking the Bourbon out of her hand
"Sweety, I just need one sip- to make it through the day" my mother pleads
"No" I snap "1 sip will turn into 2, and then 3, and the whole bottle!" I put the Bourbon in the safe and I locked it.
"You're father would not want me to suffer" my mother snaps
"My father would not want you to be a drunk" I answer.
"Quinn!" my sister yells, she's wearing a really short dress, and a little tiara "your dress is way too long" she snickers. I look down, my skirt was just above my knees, and I was already feeling exposed. My beautiful sister was turning 21, and she was hosting a party
"I invited the Queens" she said, I roll my eyes. The Queens were notorious for their playboy son- Oliver. He had recently returned from his 5 year lost at sea thing, he also showed up at my fathers funeral
"I'll go help mother" I yawn, "I'll be right back" I walk up the stairs. My mother is in her room, changing into a dress
"Quinn" she begins
"Yes mother?" I answer
"You should go enjoy yourself" my mother says sighing into the mirror
"let me help you with this" I help her zip up the back of the dress
"Quinn, you're always so helpful" she laughs
"Mom- you should stop drinking" I sigh
"I'll stop drinking when your father comes back" she mutters, "Steven is coming back for us Quinn, and when he does that's when I'll stop drinking" I leave her to put on makeup and perfume. I walk back to my room, and to the closet- inside was a black dress I had been saving from my party, it was strapless and it was very short. I was tired of being the good child, I was tired of being the one to constantly pull my mother back on course, and constantly having to lock up the alcohol cabinet because my family was always taking every opportunity to get drunk. When was the last time I actually had fun?
"Screw it" I mutter, as I slip into the black dress, "I'm done being the good child"
"-so I was thinking of a book, or wine" I tuned into Caitlin,
"I got him some wine already" I said
"Oh. alright" Caitlin says, and we pass by the wine department without another glance
"What's his position on Stephen Hawking?" I ask as we walk into the Central City book store
"Oh, Hawking is not Dr. Wells' favorite" she starts to browse
"what if we got him a biography of someone that's not a scientist" I ask, Caitlin picks up the 50th anniversary of the Central City Science Magazine.
"Uh, I don't know" she replies,
"I need to update my bookcase" I sigh as I grab one of the newest fiction books that had just been released. As I start flipping through it, a man bumps into me and knocks the book out of my hands.
"hey!" I exclaim, and the man just mutters a sorry, and gives the book back to me. His brown eyes meet mine, Alex? I try to say thank you but he just walks away.
"Caitlin, since you know Wells better than all of us, how about you get the books, and I'll go get some coffee" I say keeping my eyes on the man who is now browsing in the non fiction section
"Oh sure!" she replys, and then she looks up "are you alright?' my facial expression must've given it away.
"yes, I'm fine" I reply, the man walks out the door, "Call me when you're done" I said as I speed out of the book store.
"Alex?" I exclaim, running after him- he doesn't turn around. I've followed him into the alleyway next to the mall. "Alexander!" I scream, and he slowly turns around. I gasp, as his face comes into view, a scar runs through his left eye, making it white, and the scar tissue has destroyed half his face. His hair is matted down and dirty, but what scares me the most is his vacant stare.
"Quinn" he whispers, and walks toward me. I flinch and back away, this was too much
"You died!" I scream, I felt my eyes burn and my vision get blurry,
"Quinn, you are different" he's really close to me, "don't cry, I will make everything better. All the pain you have suffered was because of Harrison Wells. He did this to us, help me kill him" his voice is ruff and his eyes are now filled with insanity.
"No" I snarl back, "you aren't Alex, you're just a shell of what he used to be" I push him away and I start to walk away.
"Quinn, I know you're with Wells! Turn him over" he punches a wall and it dissolves "or you'll go with him"
"Go to hell" I scream, he starts running at me, and I shoot a bolt of lighting straight at his heart. It hits him straight in the chest, he staggers but he keeps on coming. He throws a garbage can at me,
"how rude!" I exclaim, as I send it crashing back at him "you fight dirty" (no pun intended) I snarl. I slam him into a wall, and he lets out a scream as his shoulder cracks against the brick. It dissolved under his touch, and he falls into the building.
"you've got to do better than that sweetie" he grumbles as he crawls out of the debris, he picks up a metal pole and throws it toward me, my shield stops it, but it sputtered out- I was too weak, and I had used up all my energy. The metal pole, slammed right into my chest, and I was thrown backward.
"changed your mind yet?" he asked, I wheeze and coughed up blood
"no" I spat back,
"let me give you some incentive" he says, and puts his hand on the ground, it began to crumble, straight toward me.
"Tell me where Wells is, and his little Flash toy, and I'll let you live
A panic starts to eat through my body, and suddenly a surge of energy. I feel a warmth go through my body
"Good bye Alex" I whisper, and I let go of the energy.
"-Quinn! Come on I know you're there, come to me" I hear a voice and a jolt of pain makes me sit right up. I let out a shriek of pain, and Barry's face comes into view.
"Barry?" I exclaim, he rubs his his chest, and he winces. "Oh I'm sorry, I..." I try to sit up, but pain rips through my body, and I whimper.
"your ribs are broken really badly, and you probably have a concussion-" Barry begins,
"thanks for telling me-" I try to say, but I cough up blood instead-
"Damn, this is worse than I thought" Barry scoops me up,
"Alex, is back" I mumble, but we were speeding down the street.
The next few hours were very confusing
I remember being in surgery and then the next thing I know I'm staring at the ceiling of Star Labs.
"she's awake" Cisco yells to the others when my eyes opened, I slowly sit up, and took the oxygen mask off my face,
"who were you fighting? And what gave you the idea to explode?" Barry is stern, and his lips formed a hard line.
"I was fighting Alexander, my boyfriend who is supposed to be dead" I take a shallow breath, "when he touches things they turn to dust." Dr. Wells raises an eyebrow, Cisco inhales sharply, Barry puts a hand on my shoulder, and Caitlin seems deep in thought but she seemed to tune in after that.
"well some good news- the yellow man's trap is ready" Ciso exclaims happily
"I'm just going to sleep" I said weakly, everyone leaves the room except for Barry. He sighs and sits down in a chair next to me.
"Quinn, can I ask you something?" his eyes were red, and it seemed as if he had cried recently.
"Sure" I whisper, my ribs were on fire
"There is this girl, and I like her a lot. But she has never known, and I don't know if I should tell her." he rubs his face, and chokes up a bit "if this yellow man kills me, I think she should know"
"Barry?" I interrupt weakly, he looks up "the only regret I had with Alex was not knowing him earlier" I turned my head toward him "tell her, let her know, it's never a bad decision." Barry nods, and he gets up.
"Thank you Quinn" he whispers, and in a flash he is gone.
"Cisco kill the power!" a voice jolts me from my speech, I sit straight up, and a stabbing pain echoes through my ribs.
"No! I can't let the psychopath out! He'll kill all of us" I hear Cisco scream back, I turn the heart monitor off, and I start pulling the sticky things off of me. The IV took a little longer, but I was in my suit in 4 seconds. Out of the corner of my eye I see a morphine shot, "well crap, why not" I grit my teeth and I plunge the needle into my side. As I sped out the main lab room and down to the place where the traps were, I hear Cisco yell
"Quinn, no! Stop!" but I was already halfway there. By the time I had gotten there I heard grunts and guns clattering to the floor.
"Stop or I will shoot!" a voice echoes through the room- Eddie Thawn, the police guy who investigated criminals after I give him evidence from the crime scene. Like guns will work against metahumans. I open the door, and I see a yellow blur running around- in a flash he grabs Eddie, and looks right into his eyes,
"hey douche-bag pick someone that has the same powers as you" I yell, as I throw a knife at him, it cuts his calf, and the yellow blur starts toward me- then he was gone. My attention turns back to Eddie, and to my surprise I don't think I should be surprised anymore, instead of thanking me like a normal person, Eddie takes out his gun.
"stop" his hands are shaking "or I will shoot." I see Joe raise an eyebrow, and sigh.
"I just saved your life!" I protest, but Eddie keeps the gun pointed at me,
"you work with the Flash, and the Flash is a danger to all of us" he yells. With a flick of my hand, all the knives in my pockets fly out and surround Eddie
"Eddie Thawn" I growl, my voice vibrating, "you are an ungrateful asshole who is so intent on catching the city's hero" the gun flies out of his hand at my command. "Are you mad that you got beaten up by him? Can Detective Pretty boy not take a hit?" he flinches "then you decide to turn Iris against him- taking away his one and only friend" my voice is dangerously cold.
"He's a threat- we don't know his motives" he whimpers
"Tell that to the people saved by the Flash, tell that to the mothers whose kids were saved from that fire, and the man who almost got hit by a 3 ton truck!" I scream, "you would've been too late if you hadn't gotten there in time" I pause. Eddie is quivering
"Why are you so afraid of the Flash?" I ask, "Oh wait, he's getting in the way of your victories, and your success right?" I chuckle hysterically, Eddie for something, I redirect a knife, and the point gently scrapes his skin. "My name is Aegis, and I am the protector of people like me- I won't let an ordinary human get in the way of the good that the Flash is doing." Barry runs into the room, a breeze travels through the room
"Aegis, stop!" he yells
"You shouldn't worried about him, you should be worried about me" I snarl, with a flash my knifes, me, and Barry disappear out of the room, leaving Eddie on the floor shaking.
I've finally caught up to the mid-season finale- this chapter took me forever, but I loved writing it! Hope you enjoy, and can't wait for the new episodes! Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year (coming later)! ~Helena