Welcome, everyone. This is one of my favourite episodes of the show including some of my fave quotes. We're closer to the Christmas episode and I'm so excited!
There hasn't been much reviews lately (Thanks, last guest), so all I can hope is that you are liking the story. Don't feel shy to share your thoughts of it or of whatever, always glad to hear suggestions as well.
Anyway, I do not own anything but my OC. x
"Barry! It's already 9:20." I said while knocking on the door to his apartment. I could hear his alarm and from under the door, his shadow moving around. Minutes later, he opened the door. "Wow."
"Ready to go?"
"Yeah, sure." He closed the door and we walked toward the coffee shop, where here was a long line. "I hate it when they let the new guy train during the morning rush." The lady in front said. I looked at Barry and he smirked, a coffee appearing on each of the costumer's hand on the line. We smiled and exited the place.
"Show off." I told him when someone from behind grabbed Barry.
"Don't try nothing." He said as I could feel a gun pointed at my back and then pushed us to the small alley. "Wallet, now."
"Oh, this is awesome. You've got to be kidding me. Hold on, okay? I'm just gonna set this down…" Barry put the cup of coffee down, the mugger looking confused as Barry laughed, I just took a sip of my coffee. "I mean, this is crazy. There are literally hundreds of thousands of people in Central City, and out of everyone you could have picked, you pick me."
"What, are you sick? Money, now."
"I just…you're really gonna be kicking yourself, man. I mean, if there was an Olympics for bad luck, you didn't just medal, pal. You Michael Phelps-ed."
"I'll count to three. Then I'm gonna shoot her, then you." The mugger hooded his gum at my head. I was panicked, and Barry seemed to be okay with it. "One…two…" He said while getting ready.
"Barry!" I screamed and he suddenly took off running, taking the guy's clothes, gun and then, a police officer appeared. He picked me up from the ground and in a matter of seconds we were at STAR Labs. "Are you retarded?! Holy shit, Barry, I don't even know how I am alive." I finally said, my cup of coffee almost dropping to the floor but he was faster and got it before it hit the floor.
"Sorry, guys, got a little held up." He said and the others looked at him. "You had to be there." I simply narrowed my eyes at him.
"I'm gonna need a moment or two alone with Barry." Harrison said. Caitlin was the first one to exit, followed by Cisco.
"Ooh, you're in trouble." He said and I followed the others out.
"If he really gets in trouble, give me a call." I told Cisco, gaining a disapproval look from Caitlin but a wink from Cisco.
Since I left my car back at Barry's place, I had to catch a Taxi not so far away from the Labs to go back there and finally be able to go to work. It was unusual to not have patients for the day, but since I was behind my reports, it was the perfect day to do them.
"Hey, how's my favorite doctor doing?" Joe's voice called from the door, holding an orange juice and a bag.
"Stressed. Should've done all this when I had to, I could be home relaxing on the Jacuzzi but no, I was too lazy to do the reports and now I'm all locked up here."
"Dr. Wells has a Jacuzzi at home?" He asked surprised but I just shrugged. "Brought your favorite. Chicken quesadilla from Jitters and a brownie for dessert."
"Thanks, Joe, you really are a life savior." I said while pushing the papers on the side and getting the food out of the bag.
"Your friends at STAR Lab have a new challenge. We found an electrocuted body, no way to identify him. Barry's with them right now."
"Sounds interesting. But I'm afraid I won't be there anytime soon, like I told you, I need to finish this reports."
"Maybe that'll teach you to do the things when you have to." The way of saying it made me go back to the early years where he would be upset at me and punish me. "How's your neck?"
"Better. Bruises are barely noticeable and don't drag any attention. Tony was the first one to notice them, thought I was having some problems with my boyfriend. I mean, he almost confiscated my phone to talk to him and set up a date and time to beat him."
"If he's too tough maybe I should hire him to guard you." I just rolled my eyes. "Speaking of, Barry said that while you were bursting all your anger out you mentioned Eiling being here as well. What did he want?"
"Try to scare me, but he's not that good at it." I said while grabbing a new napkin and the other quesadilla left.
"What did Dr. Wells told you?"
"That I should not worry about him. That he only talks and talks but never goes to the action."
"Well I don't trust the man, and I would feel better if Tony gets his office next to yours, just in case something else happens."
"I don't think Tony would agree on leaving his current office, he loves it. But what do you say if you let me buy a nice and small gun that I can keep here, in my desk, just in case."
"No, absolutely not. A gun is not a toy and this is a hospital, there are security guards all over the place."
"Joe, I'm not 15 years old, I know how to use a gun. You taught me when I was 18, remember? And like I tell you, it will be here, in my desk, where only I can have access to. The guards take forever to run up the stairs or take the elevator and I don't want to risk my life because of that."
Joe sighed, a hand moving though his face. "Fine. But you have to promise to take another class of shooting with me, that way I can make sure you still know how to use it."
"Deal." We both got up from the chairs as I walked to hug him and walk him out of the door.
The day kept on going very slow for my taste. After Joe left, I didn't take any other break to be done faster. With the last report done, I was finally able to enjoy my freedom, until I got a text from Cisco asking me to pick up my brother, which I found very odd.
"What do you mean you lost your speed? That's not possible!"
"Danielle, can we just please get to STAR Labs?"
"I'm sorry, yeah." Shaking my head once, I started the car once again and took off toward STAR Labs. "But really, what happened?"
"New meta-human in town with the ability to steal my power."
"I think that's very obvious."
"I don't know who he is, but we need to fix this first."
The rest of the road was silent. It was weird having Barry in his costume on my car seat other than him being running around the place. The minute we got to STAR Labs, Harrison ordered him to go into the treadmill, where he began to run.
"He runs slow even for a normal person." Cisco said and shortly after Barry stopped.
"You can't just lose your powers, okay? Your DNA was transformed by the particle accelerator blast, there's no way to untransform DNA." Caitlin said while he sat down, a little out of breath.
"So we were wrong. This meta-human doesn't electrocute people, he siphons electricity, thereby removing your power." Harrison said.
"All right, do we think this is temporary or…" I looked from Barry to Harrison and by his expression, I knew this was not going to be easy.
"We have to run tests."
"Yeah. I've got to warn Joe." Barry said while getting up.
"Barry, we will find a way to restore your speed. I promise you that." Wells told him and he nodded.
Caitlin and Cisco walked away, leaving Harrison and me alone. "Do you really think we will be able to restore Barry's speed?"
"Anything is possible, right?" Without facing me, he got up from the chair and walked over to his office, me following close behind.
"Yeah, well your face tells me you are not so sure about it." With me saying that, he stopped, making me stumble on his back. "Sorry, couldn't resist to read your face."
"You're right, I'm not sure if Barry can get his speed back."
"Hey." I said while stepping in front, grabbing his face on my hands. "You are the most intelligent person I have ever met, and I've met a lot of people. Whenever there's trouble you think of a solution, and this won't be the exception. I trust in you, we will find a way to have that speed back and stop this meta-human like the ones we stopped before." He didn't say anything, he just leaned to kiss me. "I'll go and buy some dinner, want to come?"
"I'll pass. Need to think of a solution." I smiled at him and walked out of the office and to the Cortex, where Barry was back. "Hey, I'm getting us some dinner. Anything in particular you want?"
"Pizza!" Cisco was the one to say right away.
"Alright, any other suggestion?"
"Fine by me." Cait agreed and Barry just nodded.
"'Kay, be back soon."
Just as I was about to walk out, an alarm began beeping. Cisco hurried to the monitors and got a look into the outside camera. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. This is not happening." In the screen, there was a man.
"Dr. Harrison Wells, I need to see you! Come on, I know you're inside. Open the door. I just want to talk, Dr. Wells. Wells! Let me in!" He began to walk away, the camera not showing him anymore but soon, the lights began to flicker until they were completely out. There was silence, none of us said a thing when an explosion under us got our attention.
"He's inside." Barry said.
"I'll go find Harrison." Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I turned the light on to guide me into the darkness. Once in the office, the door closed and he was out in his wheelchair.
"Are you okay?" He asked right away.
"Yeah, yeah. Come on, Barry is trying to get in touch with Joe and the CCPD." The both of us went back to the Cortex, where Barry was looking rather nervous. "Is everything alright?"
"Joe and Iris are in trouble. I need my powers back now."
"I have a theory. It's untestable." Harrison told him.
"I'm willing to roll the dice."
I walked out of the room as they discussed Harrison's idea. I thought it was too dangerous but it was our best shot. "Where do you think you're going?"
"To talk with Farooq."
"What? Are you insane? He's the man that took your power away, why would you want to talk to him?"
"Just let me do it." Not wanting for him to risk it but having no choice I let him go as he motioned me to go back with the others to hide behind the wall.
From a distance, we could hear the electricity from his hands, he was close. Barry began to talk, trying to calm him down and it appeared to work as his electricity could not be heard anymore. The moment he asked for Harrison, I placed a hand on his shoulder. He began to talk about his friends and what happened to them, it was sad to hear stories like that.
"This is not your fault." Barry said.
"I know." Farooq said and once again, we could hear the electricity from his hands. "Wells did this to me."
Barry said some other words and was sent back to us. Caitlin ran to him as Cisco closed the door before Farooq's electricity could hit us. "Not sure how long that will hold." Cisco said.
"Done being noble, Mr. Allen? Caitlin, get him to the treadmill. Cisco, take Danielle and bring the generator online, make sure Barry gets the charge." I looked from Harrison to Cisco.
"What? I'm not going to risk her and I'm not going to leave you."
"Listen to me. Of everything I've done in my life, of everything I have invented, my most important creation is The Flash. Barry Allen must have a future. Now, go."
"He goes, but I'm staying with you." I said while stepping in front.
"Go!" He told Cisco and motioned me to follow him.
"Where are we going?"
"We need a distraction." Realizing where we were going, I stopped.
"Please tell me this is not what it looks like." I said as he got up from the chair and walked to me.
"Danielle, listen to me. We don't have enough time and Barry still has no speed. We need to buy Cisco some time and this is the only way. I'm not risking your life or anyone else. Now, are you with me?" Taking a deep breathe in, I nodded. The both of us walked to the entrance of the pipeline. He managed to lift it up, apparently, he's stronger than what he looks.
"Come to check on your pet?" Tony said while pacing around. "Why don't you just kill me, huh? Get it over with."
"Quid pro quo. That's Latin, Mr. Woodward. You've heard of Latin? Quid pro quo means something for something and in this case that something is your freedom. I'm prepared to grant it to you." Tony tuned his whole body into metal, making me jump a little as he hit the glass.
"How do you know I won't kill you?" He looked behind Harrison and spotted me. "Ah, Daniele, came back for more action?"
"Leave her out of this." Harrison said in a rather serious tone. "As for your question, that's a risk I'm willing to take."
"Really? Why would you do that?"
"Because there is another meta-human loose in this facility. I want you to kill him."
With Tony finally free, I made sure to stay behind Harrison, as I was too afraid of Tony to be anywhere close to him. He finally made his way out and the lights were back on. "Tony, is he going to stand a chance against Farooq?"
"I highly doubt it. He will give him a fight, but I don't believe he will live. Why?"
"Is it bad that I don't feel anything about the thought of Tony dying at that man's hands?" I asked while looking up at him but he simply kissed my forehead.
"I will go with Cisco to the generator room. There's only one way we can escape and I need you to be there before any of us."
"Wait, what about Barry and his speed?"
"For what I can tell, the plan didn't work. He and Caitlin must've escaped from the treadmill room, possibly heading to Cisco as well. The main entrance is not an option but we can use the garage. Go there and hide until we can make our way there, okay?"
"Just make sure my brother is still alive."
As we made our separate ways I couldn't help but feel a bad sensation on my chest, as if something bad was going to happen. It was not easy to shake that feeling away, at least not while we were in between life and death and Joe was being held hostage with Iris at the station with no speedster to help them.
Finally getting to the garage, I leaned against the wall. I couldn't hear anything, it was all silent. Probably 10 minutes later I heard some footsteps and the sound of Harrison's wheelchair. Barry was the first one to come through. "Danielle, are you okay?"
"Are you?"
"Still no speed."
"Second van, keys are inside." Cisco said while he and the others entered the place as well. Barry followed to the van as I stick beside Harrison.
"Come on." Barry said while starting the van. "Get in, come on!" But suddenly, the van turned off, the garage door stopped opening and Harrison's wheelchair as well.
"He's here." Harrison said while trying to move the stick on the wheelchair.
From the door where the others had come in, Farooq entered, firing directly at the van Barry was inside, making him jump out of it. "Barry." Caitlin called out as he and Cisco ran to him.
"Go with them, I'll distract him." Harrison told me in almost a whisper.
"What? No, I won't leave you!"
"Danielle, I won't let you die. Now, go!" He said and I leaned down to kiss him.
"I love you." I said as I walked cautiously to the back of the other van.
"Hey!" Wells called, giving me time to go with Barry and the others. "You're here for me." Barry looked at me with obvious scare on his face.
"Finally, you show your face."
"Well, I wasn't exactly eager to be killed."
"Neither were my friends." I could see his hands begin to glow in electricity, at this point, I was very scared.
"I know. I hurt a lot of people that night."
"People? You don't even know their names."
"Jake Davenport, Darya Kim, Ralph Dibny, Al Rothstein, Grant Danerson, Will Evett, Bea Da Costa, Ronnie Raymond. I know the names of every person who died that night. I know they all mattered, and the fact that the world is now deprived of their potential is something that I have to live with every day, but these people…these people have done nothing wrong. You want to punish me? Fine, let's do that, but let these people live." I could feel tears forming on my eyes.
"You died that night too." The meta-human fired at him, making Wells get sent away from his chair into the ground.
"No!"
"You just didn't know it till today." I could see he was ready to fire another electric beam at him, but then, a wind hit my face and in a blink of an eye, Harrison was next to me.
"Oh, my god, are you okay?" I asked while looking at him.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He said a little shocked but I simply smiled and kissed him. We then turned our attention to Barry, who now was in his suit. Farooq sent an electric charge at him, making Barry scream, both falling on their knees. Then, there was nothing but Farooq falling to the floor and Barry trying to recover his breath but then, he was gone.
With the long night barely ending, I excused to go home while Barry was still at the station and the STAR Labs guys deal with the dead meta-human. "Thought you were already sleeping."
"I needed a small time in the Jacuzzi better. Want to join?" He half smiled at me while joining me and letting me rest my head on his chest. "So is Farooq really dead?"
"I'm afraid he is."
"Why do villains and heroes always have the tragic stories? I mean, Farooq killed his friends by accident and that drove him crazy, Black wanted to help his wife but made the wrong decision. Or Bette, she was just with the wrong people. Don't even get me started with Barry. But see, this is the interesting part. Black could've done better things and be a hero like Barry, his ability was amazing while Bette's ability wasn't that much helpful and yet she didn't want to be the bad guy. It's really amazing how the human brain works and how your actions later define you." I looked over at Harrison, who had an intriguing look on his face. "Sorry, I'm going full nerd like Barry."
"You say that as if I wasn't a nerd myself." I smiled a little.
"But really, it's amazing. I mean, I share the same backstory than Barry. What if it was me that was hit by the lightning that night and had the super speed? Barry sees his power as a way to save people, but me? I imagine all the clothes and shoes I could get with people not even noticing me." Harrison chuckled while pushing a hair behind my ear. "If you had Barry's speed, would you be the hero or the villain?"
"Who do you see me like?"
"The villain. I like bad boys, they are always more interesting, not to mention, they are very attractive." He smirked a little while breaking the space between us, but I pushed him away. "Unfortunately, our bad boys don't qualify, that's why I stick with you."
"I'll remind you of this talk when they put us both behind bars."
"Please, I was raised by a cop, I know few tricks on how to escape before they can get me into the police car." I said with a wink and he just laughed.
"I love you."
"I know you do." I said and this time, breaking the space once again and kissing him.
Oh, the irony. :-)