"-dude, that was amazing!" Cisco said, he high fived Barry, and Dr. Wells had on a rare smile. Cisco paused and smiled "we should take a picture" he said,
"I think the part of being a superhero is that you don't take pictures of yourself without the mask" Barry said, I smiled at his comment. Caitlin didn't seem so happy in this idea, but Dr. Wells approved it, and Barry takes a picture while being in the picture at the same time.
"doesn't that count as a selfie?" Caitlin asks, she had given in to the idea of letting Barry take a pic with his mask on
"that was amazing" Cisco emphasized, we walked out of the room, leaving Barry and Dr. Wells alone,
"yeah" I replied, Dr. Wells had been acting differently lately, he was a little too happy- I mean how could you be happy if in the back of your mind you know you almost blew a fricking hole in Central City.
"how are the burns healing?" Cisco asked as we were walking,
"they're non existent" I said, taking off my jacket. The burns from last week should've left huge scars be instead- they were gone.
"well- that's good?" Cisco said, we got to our cars,
"yeah" I replied, as I opened the door, "see you later" I added. I started the car and I pulled out of the parking lot-thinking of the wonderful warm bed that awaited me at home.
A annoying sound wakes me up at 6 in the morning, after few seconds I realized it was my phone
"hello?" I said into the phone
"Quinn! Crime scene, we need you- crime scene" it was Eddie,
"alright" I said scrambling out of bed, "address?" I asked, Eddie told me the address as I struggled into jeans and a t-shirt
"it's Dr. Wells' house" he added before he hung up, I paused
"alright" I replied, and I raced out of my house with my bad and jacket.
20 minutes later:
"-thanks for being on time" Eddie says, stepping out of his car
"you're late" was all I replied, Eddie annoyed me on so many different levels
"nice outfit by the way" he said with a smile,
"not thanks to you" I replied, my hair was tied up into a messy bun, I had on my glasses (who has time for contacts at 6 in the morning?), I was wearing torn jeans, a tie dyed shirt, and a star labs sweater- it was probably Barry's sweatshirt because it was 10 times too big- but whatever.
"no sign of a break in" I said, "his speakers have been destroyed" I added, "other than that there is no real damage" Joe nods, he looked like he was thinking hard
"there is no point of impact" Barry points at the glass the had put together, "it's like it just shattered themselves!" Barry looked like he grabbed random pieces of clothing and put them together. His hair was messy, and he looked like he only had 3 minutes to get ready.
"so that is where my sweatshirt went" he added quietly when I rolled up my sleeves, "the other one was so small I couldn't fit my head through it." he mumbled. I roll my eyes, Barry looks at Dr. Wells
"this wasn't just some sort of prank right?" Barry asked Dr. Wells
"no it wasn't" Dr. Wells responded, "but I know exactly who did it" he looked at me, and then Barry "it was Hartley Rathaway" he said.
"seriously?" I sighed, Dr. Wells gave me the "well-what-do-you-know" face,
"who's that?" he asked,
"oh god," I pulled of my glasses and rubbed my face, "I'm going to need another cup of coffee to answer that question"
"he is the protégé's son" Dr. Wells said with a grimace on my face,
"huh" I huffed, I put my glasses back on "take these back to STAR labs please" I said to one of the forensics helpers- they nod and started to load the evidence into a box
"how do I even begin to explain Hartley?" I exclaimed, Caitlin snickered at the comment- Barry seemed even more lost
"he was mostly a jerk, but every once in a while he could be a dick." Cisco added,
"yeah, he thought he was so amazing, well that was until he met me" I said, "make no mistake- he was brilliant, but it inflated his ego so much" everyone was staring at me,
"how did you meet him?" Caitlin asked,
"long story" I replied, I didn't want to explain the awkward flirting between us and then realizing that he was gay.
"The last time I heard of him was that he came out to his father- and he was like disowned" I said
"old family, old traditions" Caitlin said
"why is he targeting you?" Joe asked, but he wasn't given a reply,
"we need to get to the lab" Barry said, breaking the awkward silence. As Joe, Barry, and I left- I looked back, Caitlin and Cisco looked upset
"I could go my whole life without seeing that guy again" I heard Cisco say before I turned the corner.
"-why in the world is he attacking his own father's building?" I asked, as Barry and I ran toward the black figure trying to break a glass building
"who knows" Barry responded, he was tense and nervous,
"Hartley and I had a thing going" I said, Barry screeched to a stop, I stopped too. "Then I realized he was gay" I added, "but to keep his parents and my parents happy we kept it going." we continued to run, "it was bad." We near a figure clothed in black, here goes nothing.
"hey honey" I snarl, the figure turns around, a familiar face come into view "if you wanted to be all evil and macho, I would drop the glasses and get colored contacts" I said, Hartley makes a face
"Quinn" he whispered
"It's Aegis bit-" I said as he fired a bolt of energy, I deflect it easily. Of course next thing he does is throw a car at me, I slid to the right as the car slides right past me. Barry comes around, they had a little conversation, and Barry get's thrown through glass. Honestly could boys be more dull?
"Long time no see" Hartley turned toward me,
"you need to loose the Anakin going bad style" I said, looking down at him, "I can't take you seriously" Hartley fires another bolt of sound waves at me, I throw up a shield, and the sound waves bounce harmlessly off of my shield.
"I can see why you're so bitter- I would be too if my Alex died" he said with a snap, I throw a shield at him it knocks him backward. Barry sped around and threw police batons at Hartley, then the gloves came off.
"you're coming with me" I said, grabbing him by the collar "sweaty" I added with a snarl
The next few hours were filled with punches, tears, and frustrated screaming (mostly me).
"I knew the risks, but I took the chance" Dr. Wells said
"So you knew, that you could blow a hole in Central City, and kill thousands of people. You put your goals and ideas of success before the lives of people we love!" my voice shook with anger, Dr. Wells didn't say anything,
"this whole disaster could've been avoided! I would've never had to experience the death and return of Alex, I would've never had to get all these wounds and scars. I could've been happy!" I snarled, my skin started to glow. I walked away, and the whole day comes back to me. My dead friend, my wounds, the fall. I feel myself get hot, and I found that my skin was glowing a bright golden color laced with orange and red wisps. Barry, put a hand on my shoulder, I shrug him off
"Quinn-" he began
"let her say what she needs to say" Dr. Wells said,
"I have nothing left to say" I snapped, I hated when Dr. Wells acted all noble and fair, I took my stuff, and walked out the room. But right before I'm out of earshot, I hear Caitlin say
"-next time you choose to put our lives, and the lives of the ones we love at risk. I'll expect a heads up"
After a few flights of stairs, I lose it- the nearest thing I punch is the wall, and it cracks. My hand print was impeded into the wall, after 3 futile attempts to control my breathing- I felt the tears come. A hand touches my shoulder,
"I'm fine Barry, I just need some time" I sniffle,
"you and I both know that you're not okay" I hear the soft voice that belonged to Caitlin, I turn around and she gives me a small hug.
"losing someone you love is hard, you hear their voice, you see their stuff, and it's like he's next to you. But then you remember that day, and it just crushes you again" Caitlin says, we sat on the stairs staring at the walls.
"he was the only guy I had left" I said, my voice was empty- and so was I.
"you still have us" Caitlin said,
"yeah" I replied, and we sat there in silence- Cisco found us a while later, but by that time the tears had stopped.
"Why are the gloves on the lowest setting?" Cisco asked out loud
"he wanted to get caught?-" as soon as I said it, Cisco stood up and ran out of the room
"Cisco! No!" I scream, as he charges down the hall and toward the door. Right when we get to the the particle accelerator, a huge explosion hits Cisco, and he gets blown back right into me. A huge chunk of plastic scrapes past me face, knocking me down. Harvey walk past us sneering, and out the door. Cisco is motionless on the floor, I push him slowly to the side, and I get up- my ears ring as I lift Cisco up with a forcefield. I float him to the main room, my hand on my face trying to stop the blood from dripping onto my shirt. I find Caitlin rubbing her face, it was red
"did he hit yo-" I began when I see the welt beginning to form on her face
"Quinn, I need to look at your face" she said, and I float Cisco on to the bed
I float Cisco over to the bench, while Caitlin fumbles for supplies,
"I'm going to murder him" Caitlin growls,
"get in line girl" I said, holding the gauze up to my face, Caitlin walks over to me
"what happened?" she said, as she takes my hand away, I feel blood leak down my face.
"he made the door explode" I said, wiping away the blood, "I think he used his earpiece or something- I volunteered to remove it, and he started to freak out" I looked over at Cisco, "he took a big hit, and slammed into me- a chunk of plastic did too" I said,
"alright- this is a huge cut" Caitlin said she takes out a needle "you're going to need stitches."
"Mr. Ramon?" I hear Barry say as Cisco wakes up, I turn toward their direction, and I see Cisco sit up
"Caitlin? Oh god, what about Quinn?!" he tries to get up
"they're fine" Barry said,
"you have a concussion, and Quinn has a cut on her face" Caitlin said, as she threw away the gloves, she had just finished stitching up my face.
"that is not a cut" Cisco muttered later when he saw my face. I grabbed the morphine shot off of the little tray table Caitlin put it on and I injected it into my arm. Barry winces as the needle goes in, and once again as I brought the needle out.
"he's more annoying than that time I met him at my father's party thing" I snarl, the bandage covering my face crinkled with every move of my face. I turn around and I punch a wall, my hand leaves a dent in the wall.
"let's stop punching things" Barry said, I sigh and looked at the wall
"sorry" I said to the wall more than to Barry, but still (good enough), "I need some air" I sigh as I walk out of the room.
"I have failed this city" Dr. Wells said, I was standing next to Barry watching Dr. Wells give his press conference thing.
"isn't that the Arrow's catch phrase or something?" I whispered, a girl in the crowd caught my eye,
"did you have a question Ms. West?" I hear Dr. Wells say,
"yeah-" she replies, but I don't listen to the rest of her conversation
"he's attacking people at the dam!" Caitlin said, I dropped the book I was reading,
"Hartley?" I asked
"yeah! Go!" Caitlin exclaimed, I ran and put on my suit, Barry waited for me, and together we speed down to the Dam.
"can you handle this?" Barry asked,
"if you mean kick his ass- yeah" I responded, and the rest of the trip was quiet
20 minutes later:
The cut on my face has been reopened, and I was pissed.
"stop it!" I scream at Hartley as he cracked another car, he turned around and shot a bolt of energy at another car. The car skidded 5 feet, and slammed right into my ribs, I fall over the edge, but my fingers find the ledge. As I slowly pull myself up,
"it's over" I hear Barry say as I cough and blood dribbled down my chin.
"no it's not, I programmed the gloves to override your frequency, with you earpiece" he starts laughing, Barry jolts, and suddenly he starts to vibrate.
"no!" I try to climb over the edge, my arms give out, and I'm hanging again. I hear footsteps
"you feel that?" I hear Hartley snarl, "that's your internal organs ripping apart!" he chuckled, and leaned over. "and as for you- I didn't have time to calculate your frequency, but this'll do" he wrenches my fingers off the ledge. I hear Barry scream, as I plummet to my death. Every fiber of my body seemed to be air. The rushing wind snaps at my hair, and the dark silhouette of Hartley look down on me. Memories of my life flash before me, I see my mother, my father, and me sister laughing, Caitlin laughing with me when Cisco tried to do an imitation of someone, Cisco being Cisco, and Barry's snide comment last week. I seemed suspended in air, but I knew deep down that the impact of water was coming faster and faster. Suddenly, an idea hits me-
"I have nothing to lose" I close my eyes, and I created a huge shield.
Crack, I land on something solid, my knee cracks, and so does my arm,
"oh fudge" was all I said, I was suspended in thin air by the shield I created. I slowly float myself up, a thin sheet of sweat covers me by the time I stumbled onto solid ground, the energy required to do this was insane. As the world was tiling and spinning. Barry was vibrating still, and Hartley had his back turned toward me.
"Quinn, are you still there?" I hear Cisco, as I limp toward Hartley, I hear Dr. Wells saying something in the background,
"miss me?" I whispered into Hartleys ear, he turns around-
"what?" he motioned toward the edge "you're supposed to be dead!" he snarled, "you evil-" I punched him in the face. He staggered back, a high pitched sound echoes through the air, and his gloves start to steam and vibrate,
"no!" he screamed, and tried to fix them. I push him out of the way, the gloves sputter and crack. Barry groans, and stops vibrating, "noooooo!" Hartley screams, picking up the gloves. He drops them and charges at me. He punches me in the chest, but after 2 solid kicks, and a nice slap- he was unconscious on the ground.
"thanks" I hear Barry say,
"yeah, friends don't let friends vibrate to death" I said, my knee throbbing,
"let's get out of here" he said, scooping me up,
"yeah" I said
The pain in my chest was unbelievable, and one side of my face was completely swollen. By the time we dumped Hartley into a cell, Barry had to help me limp back to the main section of STAR
"-her vitals"
"oh god look at her ribs, they're-"
"I need to fix her-"
one voice fades into another, and they blur together. I feel Barry holding my hand, Caitlin fixing my face, ribs, and my knee. I hear Dr. Wells roll around in his wheelchair, and the occasional whisper about something.
Barry POV:
By the time we got back to the lab, Quinn was basically ready to collapse
After a while she opened up her eyes, curled up her fingers, and blinked a couple times, her face was bandaged, and she sat up.
"hey, hey" I said, helping her up, "you have some cracked ribs"
"I'll be fine" she said, waving me off, she still looked pissed, "my leg" she added
"oh, yeah- you just tore something- it'll heal in a few hours- but that hand is gonna take some time." I said, she rolled her eyes.
"I guess I can't fall 50 feet onto my own shield stay in one piece" she said,
"well you saved me" I said, she smiled "let me help you home" I added
"okay" she said, and we walked out the door.