The Bolt Episode 9 Fated

My name is Sean White. After waking up with no memory of who I was, I discovered I could do impossible things. Inspired by the heroes around me, I decided to put my powers to use and protect the people of Alter City, and find the missing pieces of my past. I am, The Bolt!

CENTRAL CITY, 3 YEARS EARLIER

A young Olive road down the sidewalk of her street on a scooter. Her helmet was strapped tightly around her head. It was late. She had been at a friend's house to see the accelerator turn on, watching the television most of the night, and decided to go home. It wasn't far, only a few blocks away, and it didn't bother her. Her parents were probably asleep by now, or just getting into bed. She would just slip back into the house if they were. It wasn't a big issue.
Suddenly the sky roared. It glowed a terrifying light, shining over the entire sky. Olive looked up in curiosity and fear, wondering where the light came from. To get a better look, she climbed up one of the street lights and held herself at the top, looking out to the city ahead of her. A massive storm cloud emerged over S.T.A.R Laboratories. The core of the light came from that place. Was it the accelerator?
Several waves of energy flew from the cloud, falling to the city below. Each wave was a different color, and it amused her to an extent. One shot of purple energy suddenly found its way toward her street. Before she had time to react, the massive energy wave engulfed the entire street, her included. She went flying off the lamppost and hit the ground with a massive thud, laying in the middle of the street, passed out. A violet color glowed inside her veins.

PRESENT

Sean stared at Olive with shock and awe, observing the glowing mist-like energy flowing around her arms. He stared deep into her now purple eyes with wonder. He was trying to process this as quickly as he could but found it to be very difficult, "Olive?" He started, "You're …you're a Meta-Human?"
She nodded, and let the energy dissipate and vanish completely, her eyes returning to their normal color. She held her arm, feeling scared and almost awkward, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. It was just …hard."
Sean sat down on her bed, attempting to process the information, "So three years ago, you lived in Central City."
"The explosion was why we moved away," She said, "My powers didn't appear until a year later. I always kept them a secret. I was so scared of them. I was worried about telling you, because I was worried about what I would do with them," She sighed.
"Does Charley know?" Sean asked.
Olive nodded, "I tried the hero thing once. It was a wreak."
"Hold on," Sean said, "Why didn't you use your powers when Charley's dad took you?"
"It's been too long," She answered, "I almost don't even remember how to use them."
Sean nodded, trying to understand. Of course, he understood why she hid her abilities, but that didn't make any less shocking, "So …what exactly is it that you can do?"
Olive twiddled her thumbs, and sat next to Sean, "I can generate this …energy. And I can use it in a lot of ways. Mainly projection."
"Wow," Sean said, "You just became a whole lot cooler."
Olive smiled, "So …you aren't mad?"
Sean hugged her tightly, rubbing the back of her head, "No, I'm not mad. How could I be? You're my best friend, nothing changes that."
Olive smiled and tightly hugged him back, blushing at his forward gesture. After the two ended their embrace, Sean spoke up first, "So …you thought about being a vigilante?"
Olive nodded, "I want to help people just as badly as you. Charley tried teaching me but to no avail."
"Well that's because he's not a Meta-Human," Sean said, "I'll help you, Olive. I'll help you control your powers."
"You'll have to be patient with me," She said, "It's been a while."
"Of course," Sean said, "Patience is a virtue."

THE BOLT

Snow fell from the sky lightly. Winter was in full effect now. It would be Sean's first Christmas after waking up. It was a nice thought, maybe even a bit of a break from everything he had been going through recently. But even with Christmas spirit in the air, that didn't take away any responsibilities.

LIGHT-SPEED LABS CONTAINMENT FACILITY

Alex paced around the massive room with his arms crossed. Patrick sat at the far end of the corner, tapping against the glass, and Jack laid on his back, staring at the ceiling.
"So what did they do to you?" Jack asked, gesturing to Alex, who sighed.
"I'm still not sure," Alex said, "They put me through so many tests …physical and mental, stretching my powers to the limits…then they injected me with some stuff, and threw me back in here."
"Light-Speed Labs," Patrick stated, "Confusing as hell is their motto."
"I know," Alex said, "He took me to this weird place I hadn't seen before."
"What was it called?"
Before Alex could answer, the intercom over their heads turned on, a woman's voice rung from it.
"Hello," Rose said, "I am supposed to inform you your next test is going to begin soon."
Alex walks up to the one way mirror, staring at his own reflection when he knew Rose was probably standing on the other side, "How much longer is this going to go on?" He asked.
"It is not my place to say," She said.
Alex scoffed, "Of course, because you're just the assistant, right? It's not your job to question what goes on here. Do you even consider how wrong all of this is?! Are you telling yourself it's for the sake of science?! Huh?!"
Patrick and Jack stood up, backing away from Alex, who continued to banter, "We signed on for this, that is true! But you mislead us! You ruined our lives! That is something we can never, ever get back now!"
Rose was silent as he continued.
"Jack has a son, did you know that?! And Patrick has a wife! People they care about! People I care about!" He sighed, "And what about Bolt? Our little speedster. Yeah don't think I've forgotten about him. What kind of things has Peter had him do?! Does he even know what he is contributing too?! Huh?!" He banged his fist on the glass, "Answer me!"
Rose took her clipboard and turned off the intercom, walking away as quickly as he could. He struck her hard, enough to almost make her tear up. He was right, too. She didn't question anything.

Why not?

She entered the main lobby and set her keyboard down on the front desk, when she took notice of a man walking through the door.
She smiled widely, and walked toward him.
"Colby?" She said, taking his attention. Colby saw her coming and smiled, walking to her and giving her a hug.
"Hey there Rose!" He said, "How's my older sister?"
"Decent," Rose said, "Work has been tough recently."
Peter took notice of the new face and walked over to them, "Rose I'm sorry but we don't do tours."
"Oh!" Rose said, "Mr. Morrison, this is my brother, Colby."
Peter's expression changed, "Oh, well in that case, welcome. What brings you here?"
"I'm popping in to visit my sister," Colby said, "I've never been so where she works so I thought, 'might as well.' You guys study Meta-Humans here, don't you?"
Peter nodded, "And we are very busy. Rose?"
Rose nodded and turned to Colby, "I'll see you after work, ok?"
Colby nodded, and left the building.
"Rose," Peter said, "How much does he know about what you do?"
"Not a lot," She answered.
"Good," he said, and walked away.

ELSEWHERE, THE WAREHOUSE DOCKS

Olive stood in the center of the massive empty room, the only light coming from the ceiling far above. She shook the nerves out of her hands and feet, taking in several deep breaths.
This was day one.
Sean approached her, holding his hands in front of himself, and sighed, "Welcome to super-hero training 101. I am your teacher, Mr. White, not to be confused with the editor in Metropolis."
Olive let out a chuckle, "Sean what are you doing?" She smiled.
"Excuse me?" He said firmly, "Young lady while you are in my classroom, you shall refer to me as Mr. White. Say it with me. 'Yes, Mr. White'."
Olive sighed playfully, "Yes, Mr. White."
Sean nodded in approval, "Now, for your first lesson," He stepped out of the way to show her a table a couple yards away, with plastic cups stacked on top of one another, "You said projection was one of your abilities. I want you to project energy toward those cups. Simple."
"'Simple', he says," Olive mocked, "It won't be glamorous. It's been way too long."
Olive took a step forward, and let energy build up in her arms. The energy flowed around her arms, and a violet glow came from beneath her skin. She slowly lifted her hands and placed them together, side by side and pointed them at the cups. Sweat dripped down her forehead.
"Don't be nervous, you got this," Sean said.
The energy released, and flew out from her hands. The shot had knocked Olive into the air, sending her flying. Sean reacted quickly and calculated where she would land, and sped over. He caught her bridal style, and held her head up with his hand, "You ok?"
Olive nodded, as Sean put her down, "See? I told you it's been too long." She sighed in disappointment.
Sean looked over to the table and smiled, "That may be so, but, it seems like it hasn't been as long as you think." He turned her head to the table to see the cups all over the floor, rolling around.
Olive smiled, "Patience is a virtue, huh?"
Sean nodded, "Patience is a virtue."
Sean's phone suddenly started ringing. He pulled it from his pocket and read the caller ID, "One second," He said, turning around and answering the phone, "Hey Peter, what's up?"
"Thought you'd like to know about a bank robbery in progress. Didn't you pick it up on your watch?"
Sean checked his watch and saw the alert scrolling over the screen, "Um …I was busy."
"Well stop. Now get going." With that he hung up.
Sean turned back to Olive, "I gotta go. Keep practicing until I get back." Before she can even answer, he sped off.
Olive sighed, watching the energy flow around her hand with a sad expression.

ALTER CITY BANK

The doors to the bank were blown down, pieces of debris scattered to the ground. Men with guns rushed in, yelling and pointing their guns at people, "On the ground! On the ground!" One yelled, firing bullets toward the ceiling. The men started stationing themselves around the perimeter, keeping their guns close to their chests. They had clearly practiced this.
The orange blur sped into the building, quickly running by the men with guns, knocking them all into the air. He stopped in the center of the room and watched as they all hit the ground, unable to stand back up. "Bank robbery? Come on guys." Bolt said.
One of the men stood up, throwing his gun to the side, and stretching his arms.
"Don't start thinking you can keep up with me," Bolt said.
"I don't have to," Colby said. Energy started charging from his body, glowing a dark ocean blue. Bolt took a step back in confusion. He didn't have the time to react as Colby released the energy as a 360 wave, hitting Bolt and knocking him into the air. He hit the ground with a thud. By the time he managed to look up, each of the men, Colby included, were gone.
"Well that isn't fair at all," He said.

(L.S.L.O.O.H.Q.)

Olive sat in her chair, spinning around slowly, keeping the momentum by pushing off the floor with her feet. She slumped back, letting out a huff. She wasn't sure what to do. She felt so strongly for Sean, and he believed in her. So, you'd think that would make her confident. But somehow that only made her feel worse. It put more of a weight on her, like she had something she needed to prove to him. But she didn't need to prove anything.

She just wanted to.

Sean sped into the room, dropping his mask on the table and sliding into his chair, immediately typing on his keyboard.
"Hey Sean," Olive said, "What happened at the Bank?"
"A Meta-Human," Sean said, turning to her, "He could generate energy. Almost like how you do."
Olive froze, " …what?"
Sean nodded, "It's funny how someone with your kind of powers showed up, huh?"
Olive bit her nails, "I thought I felt something …"
"Come again?" Sean asked.
Olive sighed, "One of the reasons I felt I should tell you about my powers is because I started feeling …odd. Like I could sense something …what if it was this Meta?"
Sean pondered at this for a moment. If they had the same kind of abilities as her, to generate energy, could it be possible for her to sense when a similar energy is used?
"Maybe we can ask Peter about it," Sean said.
Olive immediately freaked, "No! We aren't telling Peter about my powers! I don't want anyone to know except for you!"
Sean put his hands up in surrender, "Alright, alright. You win. I won't tell him anything. But we still need to figure this out."
"Ok, we will," She said, "Meantime, we should tell Peter about this Meta-Human."
"Agreed," Sean said, typing onto the keyboard.

Peter showed up on screen, rubbing his face, "Yes, Sean, how can I help you."
"I found a Meta when I went to the bank. I'll send you his photo," He pressed the send button, and immediately saw Peter's expression drop when he received it, "Peter, everything ok?"
He never got his answer, as Peter had immediately hung up on him.
"Well," Olive said, "What was that all about?"

LIGHT-SPEED LABS

Peter stormed through the halls of the building, shouting the name of his assistant several times. His voice had started to strain, "Rose!" He yelled fiercely, "Where are you?!"
Rose walked up to him in a hurry, clearly having heard his voice, "What's wrong?! What happened?!"
"Your brother!" Peter retorted coldly, "My client, The Bolt, ran into him today, while he was robbing a bank! Rose! Your brother is a Meta-Human!"
Rose looked dumbfounded, as she raised both her eyebrows, "What? Don't be ridiculous! If he was a Meta-Human, he would have told me.":
"Would he have?!" Peter shouted, "Think hard. Would he really have told you?!"
Silence fell between them.
"Look," Peter sighed, "You are the one person in this building I can trust. I need to know you can retain that trust."
"He's not a Meta!" Rose shouted, catching Peter off guard, "…I'm sorry. But he wasn't even in Central City three years ago. He's not a Meta. He's a …inventor …" She said, realization hitting her.
"Rose?" He asked, "What is it?"
Rose never answered him as she rushed out of the room.

ALTER CITY BAR

Colby took a sip of his drink, staring down at his table. It was the middle of the day, and the bar was calm. Not many people were wandering about the tables, but he honestly didn't care. After the last job failed, he needed to find more work. These thoughts went onto a loop, until Rose sat down in front of him.
"You did it," Rose said, "Didn't you? You finished your project. Didn't you?!" She started shouting, Colby had to shush her down.
"Yeah, I finished it," Colby asked, "So?"
"'So', you used it to rob a bank! What is the matter with you?!"
Colby shushed her again, "It's more complicated than that. I finally got the tech working. But I needed supplies. So, I owed a few favors to some people and they got me supplies. That robbery was one of those favors. Ok?"
Rose shook her head, "No, not ok. I can't believe you would do this."
Colby slammed his hand on the table, and leaned in, "Listen. You don't get to judge me, ok? If you care about me in any way, you will keep quiet. Got it?!"
Rose was dead silent. Her brother had never acted up this way before. Not to her, anyway. Before she could attempt to retort, Colby stormed off. All she could do was watch him, wondering where she went wrong.

WAREHOUSE

The cups flew off the table in a spur of purple energy. Olive swung her arms in annoyance, grunting. She knew deep down she wasn't cut out for this. She wasn't cut out to be a hero. But that wasn't stopping her.

Why wasn't it stopping her?

Why was she still doing this? Why was she pushing herself to get better, stronger? Why even bother being a hero when the city already has one, a good one? Was she jealous? Scared? Angry?
All the above?
She took a step away from the table and took a deep breath. She needed to calm down. Being consumed with anger got her nowhere. But she could never stop thinking about everything that was pushing her. She kept meeting people willing to risk their lives, and she wanted to be on their level. But she wasn't. She had powers, just like Sean, but not the courage. Not the strength. Not like him. And that made her angry.
Her eyes glimmered a terrifying violet color, and sparks sounded behind her. When she turned around, the table was on fire. "Ah geez!" She said.
Sean sped in quickly and ran circles around the table, sucking away the oxygen and putting the fire out. He stopped in front of her, "Why was that on fire?" He calmly asked.
Olive shrugged, "How should I know?"
Sean looked between her and the burnt table several times before sighing, "Olive, what's going on with you?"
She didn't really know how she was supposed to answer. With the truth? Supposedly, but she had so much trouble with the truth. Was she supposed to tell him how she felt? Would he return the feelings or reject them? What if that fear is holding her back?
She couldn't let anything hold her back.

" …Sean," She said firmly, " …Can I tell you something?"
"Sure," He said, "What is it?"

She didn't know any other way to say it, so she backed up, and decided to be blunt.

"I like you, Sean …more than you realize."
Sean's expression dropped, as he analyzed what she was saying to him. Her words hit him hard, but settled after a few moments, as he let her continue speaking.
"I care about you, a lot," She continued, "You've given me so much. Friendship, trust. But most of all, you inspired me. After a while I just …I fell for you, Sean. It's too early to call it love but, I want to be with you, Sean White."
He didn't know what to say, but he knew he needed to speak immediately or risk hurting her feelings. But at the same time, he needed to watch what he said.
"Olive …" He said, trying to form words, "I …I don't know what to say …"

His watch started to beep, and Peter's caller ID ran across the screen. Olive sighed, "You should go," She said.

Sean sighed in sadness, "We'll …continue this later," He said, speeding off, and leaving her to wonder if she made the right move.

As he ran, and his lightning crackled off him, he was engulfed in his own thoughts. His right brain beat his left brain in every formed thought, too emotionally hit from her words. But he wasn't as scared of it as he thought he was. He wasn't as worried. He was …

Happy?

Then the truth was shown, he was happy. Because he knew that deep down, he felt the same way for her. He wanted to be with her too.
He stopped on top a building, and looked over the city like a guardian angel. He watched the cars drive down the streets, the people interact with one another, and the birds fly from one perch to another. This was his city, it was his job to protect it. Because he made it his job.
But that doesn't mean he can't be happy.

He sped into Peter's office, sliding into one of the chairs and turning to face Peter, who sat at his office desk.
"Sean," Peter addressed him, "I was just going to message you. You didn't have to come all the way here."
"Why not?" Sean asked, "We're friends, right?"
Peter raised a brow, but smiled, "Yes …I suppose we are. Now then, to business. Rose?"
Rose entered from behind Sean, and stood locking her fingers together, "This is Rose Donaldson," Peter said, "She's the sister of the man you faced earlier."
Sean raised a brow, and Rose cleared her throat, before speaking, "My brother, Colby, isn't a Meta as you assumed. He created these armor gloves that he uses to channel energy. Any person who didn't know that would assume he's a Meta."
"So wait," Sean interrupted, "One; Peter, why does she know?"
"I trust her, deal with it," He said sternly.

"O-k," Sean said, "Second; you want me to arrest your own brother?"

Rose nodded, "I love my brother, but he has always been rash. He doesn't think when he acts. He's trying to owe up to some favors and it's getting him into trouble."
"So take him down before he hurts himself, simple," Sean said.

The conversation continued for a few minutes, mainly between Rose and Peter talking about Colby. Sean however started sinking into his own thoughts. So much had happened in recent time he hadn't processed it. Especially after Barry showed up for a while, he hadn't had the time to process one specific event.

Vault 52.

In the now non-existent timeline, Peter had spent his dying breath telling Sean about vault 52. He hadn't had time to think about it after Barry visited, and Olive had shown Sean her powers. What was vault 52? Why would Peter feel the need to tell him? Is there something in there Sean needed to see? The possibilities could have been never ending. If Peter spent his dying breath telling him, that can only mean he had a reason for hiding it from him. Was it something Sean shouldn't see? For a good reason or a bad? It was too much to process all at once. If he asked Peter about it, he would wonder how he found out. What if it's something Peter desperately wanted to hide and only told him because he was 'dying'.
Was Barry telling the truth? Can he not trust Light-Speed Labs? Or Peter for that matter?

Peter snapped his fingers in front of Sean's face, bringing him back to reality. "What?! I'm listening!"
"No you're not, otherwise you wouldn't have to say you are," Rose said, "We just got a ping on Colby. He's by the train yard."
Sean nodded and sped out of the room, the door shutting quickly from the gust of wind.

Bolt sped into the train yard. It was sunset, so there was still enough light, and Colby won't be able to hide in the dark. "Hey Colby!" Bolt yelled, "Let's skip the formalities. I know you're here, so come on out!"
A blast of energy comes behind him. Bolt could see it just in time to move his body to the left, and watch as the energy hits one of the parked trains, completely knocking it over. "Nice to see you," Colby said, standing a few yards away.
"Dude, did you just hate Thomas the Train as a kid or something?" Bolt asked rhetorically.
Colby snickered, "I like you kid. That's what I like about heroes like you. They can make their enemies laugh."
"You aren't going to give me a speech about how I can't beat you, are you?" Bolt asked.
Colby shook his head, "Oh I'm sure we're evenly matched, speed vs strategy. That's what your passed foes have done wrong. They instinctively assume they are better in every way because they have powers. And what happened? They lost. Why? You out strategized them. Me?" Colby smiled, "I like to think ahead."
The sound of loaded guns rung all around Bolt. Men started popping up from behind trains and pointed their guns at Bolt, some with red light pointers, ready to fire at will.
"You see," Colby continued, as Bolt observed the men, "I always come prepared. I knew you would track me down. So, I decided to get you a welcoming present. But be my guest, find a way out of it. Use your speed, and they will open fire on you if they even see a flicker of electricity."
Bolt turned 360 to observe all the men. There had to have been at least 2 or 3 dozen of them, each with a fully loaded gun, "This doesn't seem very sporting," Bolt said.
"It's not supposed to be," Colby said.
"What about your sister?" Bolt said, watching as Colby's expression dropped, "You keep doing all this and you throw everything away. Your life, your family, and for what? A few favors? A piece of technology?"
"This technology is my life!" Colby shouted, "I have spent so much time figuring out how to mimic a Meta-Humans powers. To control the energy around me! It's a breakthrough no lab has done!"
"That's it?!" Bolt shouted back, "You wanted what? Recognition? To one-up every high-quality lab around?! What's the end game?!"
"Sometimes," Colby's voice dropped, "You look at the world, and see it's filth. L.S Labs is the center of the filth in this city. These men and I, we are going to clean it up."
"What?" Bolt said. Rose never mentioned any grudged against L.S Labs. Does she have unspoken history? "What does that mean?" He stepped forward.
Every gun had suddenly fired off. Each man's trigger finger fired off several rounds of bullets that made their way toward Bolt. If Bolt phased, he could dodge the bullets, but each man would die when the bullets made their way toward them. Engulfing himself in lightning, he started to run. Bullets flew passed him one by one as time slowed down for him. He moved as quickly as he could, catching as many bullets as he could. Even though these men were trying to kill him, that doesn't mean he should try and do the same to them.
As he took another step, he felt a stray bullet go through his leg. He stumbled, time started speeding up slightly as he began to lose focus. If he stopped now, they would die. So, he kept moving. Kept catching bullets, as several others managed to hit his body. As he reached for the last bullet, time resumed as he grabbed it, and fell face first to the ground.
Blood seeped from his leg and arm, where he had been shot at least 4 times. Luckily, he was moving fast enough that the bullets went clean through. But just as he thought he was out of danger, the men surrounded him, and pointed their guns at the orange speedster, ready to fire again.
"Oh come on, guys," Bolt said, panting, "That's not good sportsmanship." Bolt grinned under his mask, and got to one knee, throwing his leg out and spinning in a circle, knocking the surrounding men to the ground, and speeding away.
"Find him!" Colby said, "Don't hesitate to shoot!"

Bolt hid behind the fallen train, putting pressure on his arm and leg. Despite his fast healing, the pain was excruciating. It felt like needles going straight through him.

Just like … before.

UNKNOWN TIME, UNKNOWN PLACE

Images of white electricity filled the room, appearing in the background of the existing event.

Sean sat down in a chair, holding his hands together as a doctor stuck a needle into his arm.

" …hippopotamus … hippopotamus … hippopotamus …" Sea said quietly.
The doctor raised an eye brow, "What are you doing?" He asked, finishing and putting the needle away.
"It's something I've said since I was little," Sean replied, "One time, when I needed to get a shot, the nurse who gave it to me told me to say hippopotamus repeatedly. It got my mind off the needle and it was over before I knew it."
The doctor grinned, "She sounds nice."
"As far as I remember she was. It was better than that time I just ran down the hall. I wasn't a big fan of needles."
"No, he is not," Randolph said, standing at the door, "Is he ready?"
The doctor nodded and passed Sean over to him.
"You're going to do fine," Randolph said, "Just don't be scared."
Sean nodded, and took a deep breath in.

He let the breath out, and felt his muscles relax. Bolt opened his eyes and let his shoulders drop, looking to his hands, now vibrating with electricity. "It's happening again …" Bolt said.
The sound of footsteps frightened him, as he turned to his right and saw a man pointing a gun at him. Bolt panicked and moved on instinct.
He held his hand forward, and lightning escaped his hand. It flew in a straight line toward the man, and his him straight in the chest, sending him flying into the air and slamming back down with a thud. Bolt looked to the man and back to his hand in shock. "…How …" He wondered. Hearing more footsteps, Bolt got to his feet, and sped away as fast as he could, trying not to lose his balance.

Bolt sped into his base, limping and sitting in a chair. Olive took notice of him and panicked, rushing over to him, "Oh my god! Are you ok? What happened?!" She asked.
"A lot of men …" Sean panted, taking off his mask, "with a lot of guns."
Olive rushed for the med kit and bandaged his wounds as best she could. Sean could only stare as he watched her. She was worried the second he rushed into the room. It shows how much she meant what she said.
But then his mind trailed elsewhere. The lightning. How did he do what he did back there? He shot lightning from his hand. He's seen footage of Flash tossing lightning when he ran. But this was different. Sean didn't even have to run, or barely even move. It just happened. There was no explanation. Is this something speedsters can just do? It wasn't making any sense.
"Ok, you're all good," Olive said, wiping the sweat from her forehead, "Sean? How are you feeling?"
"Like …Like I need a nap," Sean said, "I just need to take a nap at home."
"Do you want me to drive you?" She offered, and Sean nodded.

The car ride was silent. Obviously, the Olives confession still sat between them. As much as Sean wanted to respond to her feelings, right now he just couldn't. There was too much going on in his head and he needed a break. Just one nap. That's all he needed to get his mind straight. Sean sped into his normal cloths, watching the snow lightly fall from the sky. His cloths managed to cover his wounds, so his guardians won't see them, hopefully. Sean sighed, and watched his breath vanish into the air.
"You going to be ok?" Olive asked.
"Yeah …" Sean lazily replied, too tired to come up with a real answer, "I'll call you later, ok?"
She nodded, and got back in her car. Sean watched as she drove away, with a sigh of regret.

He entered through the door casually, trying to get into character. It was best his guardians didn't know something was wrong with him. But he felt it difficult to hide his emotions with his current state.
Abigail and Ethan walked up to him, greeting him, "Welcome home," Abigail said, "It's late. Were you with Olive again?"
Sean lazily nodded and moved for the stairs. "Everything ok, sport?" Ethan asked.

Sean stopped at the top off the stairs. His head was so full of confusion and thoughts that he couldn't restrict his words. In that one moment of weakness.

He just didn't care.

"Don't call me 'sport'," He said.
Ethan looked at him oddly, "Sean is everything ok?"
"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Abigail asked.
Sean turned around in anger, "And don't call me that either!" He shouted, "You aren't my parents!"
"We never said we were," Abigail said, "We're just trying to take care of you."
"And you are doing just fantastic!" Sean said.
"Sean, what has gotten into you?" Ethan asked, concerningly.
Abigail could see what was going on.
"Ethan, let him be," She said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Sean stomped up the stairs and went to his room.

Ethan stared oddly at her, "What was his problem?"
Abigail sighed, "He's hurting. Maybe really hurting for the first time since he's woken up. Whatever is going on, it's just …pushing away his kindness. That happens, especially around his age. Knowing him, he just needs space. Let him come around on his own."
Ethan sighed, "Ok, you're right."

Sean slammed his door shut, kicking random objects around before lying face up on his bed, holding a hand to his forehead. It was staring to become too much. A few months and he's seen a lot since donning the mask. He's seen people get hurt. His memory flashes have gotten worse. He watched Peter, as well as thousands of innocent people die, before resetting the timeline, erasing everything. And though it never happened, he still remembered. He remembered the pain. Then there's the mystery behind vault 52, Olive's feelings, this new power he has. Everything has been hitting him at once and he needs it to stop. He just needs it all to stop, just for a moment, so he could catch his breath.
How does Barry do it? How does he juggle the pain, with his responsibilities? How does he stay positive and get through it all? He felt jealous, scared, and angry. He needed to talk to someone. Someone who could give him answers.
Sean pulled out his cellphone and sat up, dialing a number and holding the phone up to his ear. He almost felt this to be a petty reason to be calling him. Perhaps if he addressed Sean's new power, the call could be justified.

The phone picked up.

"Hello?" Said a voice.
"…Hey Barry," Sean said, "I hope this isn't a bad time."

"Sean? No, no, it's fine. I did say you could call anytime, I just didn't think it would be this soon," He said, "Do you need me to come and help?"
"No!" Sean said, clearing his throat afterword's. He didn't want to put more on Barry than he already had, "I was just hoping …you guys could look into something, being the Meta experts."
"Sure, we can handle that. What do you need?"
Sean hesitated before speaking, "…can speedsters develop other powers?"
The silence that followed scared him, "Sean," Barry said, "Is everything ok?"
"I don't know. I was fighting some people. I had a memory flash and then …I shot lightning from my hand. I didn't toss it. It just …came from my hand naturally. No charge up. What does that mean?"
"I don't know. I've never heard of that before. I'll run it by Cisco and see what he gets. Sean, you sure you're ok?"
Sean sighed, "No? but it's nothing you need to worry about."
"Sean, I have things I'm dealing with too. I know what it's like. Just talk to me."
"Ok …you first."
Barry let out a chuckle, "Seriously?"
"Yeah seriously! Spit it out."
Barry sighed, "So, I know you're not unfamiliar to time travel so here it goes. I had another run in with that speedster I told you about, Savitar. One event lead to another and …I found myself traveling to the future."
Sean was silent for a moment, "The future? What did you see?"
Barry was silent now. His next words held a lot of pain, "I saw Savitar, murder the woman I love. And I wasn't fast enough to save her."
Sean suddenly forgot everything he felt. All he thought about now was comforting the scarlet speedster, "Barry …I'm so sorry."
"Yeah …no one else knows yet," He sighed, "You're turn."
"Well …" Sean hesitated, "I ghosted a few weeks ago. In the original timeline, a lot of bad things happened. The L.S satellite crashed, Peter died, thousands of others died, and Peter told me about something called vault 52. After I reset the timeline, Olive said she wanted to be with me, romantically. Now this new power, it's just a lot to take in at once," Sean sighed. Just speaking it out loud gave him a headache.
"It sounds like a lot," Barry said, "Did you say vault 52? If you like, we can see what we can find out, though I won't guarantee anything."
"You've already helped by listening. Thanks."
"Sure. I'll let you know if we find anything," Before Barry hung up, Sean stopped him.
"Hey, Barry, listen … what's her name?"
" …Iris," Barry quietly said, "Her name is Iris West."
"Iris," Sean repeated, remembering he read about an Iris West months back, "You should tell Iris what you saw. If she finds out on her own, I can't imagine that conversation going well. Just reassure her you'll keep her safe."
"Maybe. Not now though. Not near Christmas. But thanks."
"Anytime."

With that final goodbye, they hung up, and Sean sighed, pulling himself under the covers of his bed and letting himself fall asleep.

Olive twiddled her fingers. She hadn't driven back home after that. Instead she found herself driving back to their base, which Cisco has suggested they call "Center Storm". Olive liked the idea, and how it somewhat related to Sean's powers, but she had yet to run the idea by him. She sat in her chair and stared at the screens in front of her, letting a mist of purple energy run through her fingers. Now that she was using these powers more frequently, she was starting to remember how to use them. She liked it. She liked the feeling of that energy coursing through her veins. The rush that it gave her. She loved that feeling.
It's a feeling almost as strong as something else.
She wanted to be like him, ever since he saved her that day from that car. Sometimes she wondered if it was fate that they had met. Whether it was or not, it didn't matter. She wanted Sean in her life for as long as possible.

The messenger started to beep on the main screen. Olive was startled and hastily pressed the answer button. Peter popped up on the screen, "Olive," He said, "Where is Sean?"
"He's not here, why? What's going on?" She asked.
"We spotted Colby again. Tell Sean that he's at one of our factories down in east Alter. And hurry." The message shuts off.
Olive knew she could have easily gone to Sean's house and woken him up. But he was under so much stress as it was. He's the city's superhero. He needed a break. It's not selfish to take a moment to breath after doing so much work.
Simultaneously, Olive got the call from Peter instead. She's always been on the sidelines.

And she just got the worst idea.

EAST ALTER

The sun had long since set, and Olive found herself staring at a ladder that lead to the roof of the factory building. She wore her zip-up hoodie, a mixture of dark purple and bright violet, a perfect match for her abilities. It was late so everyone should have gone home, meaning there hopefully won't be any hostages. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the hood over her head, and started climbing up the ladder.
Making it onto the roof, she found the nearby skylight and leaned down to it, opening the window and slipping in. She found herself in the rafters of the ceiling, moving from one spot to another and watching the group of men down below. "I really hope I don't regret this," She whispered to herself.

Colby picked up a piece of tech from the ground, then dropped it lazily, "This is the last favor," He said to the men, "After this, I go out on my own. L.S labs won't know what hit them." He walked over to the large windows and started charging energy into his gloves. Olive knew he was going to try and take the building down. She quickly lowered herself from one platform to another, making her way to the floor. She wasn't sure if she had what it took. If she blasted him now, she may make it worse.
Regretfully, she tried talking instead.

"Hey!" She yelled, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. The men pointed their guns at her, readying to fire.
"Hold on," Colby said, approaching Olive, but keeping his distance, "What do you want, kid?" He asked.
Olive was at the point of no return. She was going to stall as long as possible before things got messy, "N-none of you should be here-"
"Let me stop you there," Colby said, "I don't know who you are, or why you're here, but I suggest you leave. This whole building is …scheduled for demolition."
The talking option was now obsolete.
"I figured," She said, letting her arms fill with energy, "Let's hope I don't die, yeah?"

She released the energy with a swing of her arms. The energy flew toward the men and knocked them into the air. They hit the ground hard as Colby stared at her.
"I thought I sensed something earlier this week," She said, "It was you, and your tech. Your harnessing energy, just like I can. Except I'm a natural."
"A natural?" Colby questioned, "Lady, I'm a genius. That beats raw talent." He shot a blast at her. She dodged it by rolling out of the way. The blast hit machinery and let out sparks of electricity. Olive blasted him back with a stream of energy, which he easily returned. The two streams pushed against each other ruthlessly.
"You aren't so bad!" Colby said, "But unless you give up, this where you die!"
She was scared to believe that he may be right.

ELSEWHERE

Rose rushed into Peter's office, holding a tablet in her hands, "Mr. Morrison!"
Peter stood from his desk in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Rose caught her breath, "I don't know. There's a massive energy spike coming from our factory building and Sean White is not responding."
"Damn it!" Peter said, "Ok, I'll handle this," He said, rushing to his computer as he started typing, "Sean, pick up, now!

Sean awoke from his nap, to the faint beeping of his watch under the covers. He sat up and turned the beeping off, and answering the call.
"Sean, where are you?!" Peter asked.
"I'm at home. Why?" Sean asked.
"Our factory in East Alter. There are two energy signatures there giving off a lot of power. One of them is Colby but we don't know who the other one is. Get on it." With that he immediately hung up.
"Two energy signatures? … Olive," With haste, he sped out of his room in a flash of white lightning.

Olive hid behind a large machine and attempted to catch her breath, feeling anxiety from Colby's voice, "Come on out little girl!" He shouted, "You can't hide forever! If you don't come out, I'll just go ahead and tear this building down."
She hadn't felt this much fear in so long. She began to regret her decision to come here. Colby has more experience, she could be killed. But this is exactly what Sean would do. He didn't have any experience when he took on Jack. She had to stay strong. His tech was just a poor imitation. She had to beat him.
She just wasn't sure she could.
Taking a deep breath, she dashed across the room, catching Colby's eye. He started sending blasts at her, which she barely dodged, covering her face from the flying sparks. One of the blasts ended up hitting her, and she went flying across the ground, hitting one of the machines. She grunted in pain.
"Shame," Colby said, "Just because you're a meta, doesn't mean you win by default. That's the mistake all of you make," He began to charge energy into his gauntlets, "Let me prove it!" He released the energy, and it flew straight toward her.
Time slowed down. A blur of orange, followed by white lightning, came rushing in, "No!" Bolt shouted, the word dragging on for some time as he made his way toward the energy blast. He wasn't thinking, and he didn't care. One thing and one thing only was on his mind.

Olive.

He positioned himself between Olive and the energy blast. His instincts kicked in, and he held his hands out.

Time resumed as a stream of electricity came shooting out of Bolts hands, colliding with the energy stream. Both Colby and Olive were shocked to see Bolt standing there.
"Bolt!" Olive said.
The stream pushed against Bolt, dragging his feet across the floor. He was just as surprised, if not more, that he pulled this trick off again. But he didn't care. He had to protect her. The very idea that this man would want to hurt her made him angry. Angry, and scared.
Bolt felt himself begin to lose balance. His fear was overtaking him. Colby's power was beginning to outweigh his.

Bolt took a deep breath, and let his muscles relax.

"…hippopotamus… hippopotamus… hippopotamus…"

Bolt tightened the muscles in his hands and took a step forward, pushing back against Colby, who began to show fear. Bolt took another step forward, and another. He was overcome with the thought of protecting Olive, of protecting the person he cared for most. Imagining her hurt, or worse, made his blood boil. It gave him a surge if electricity through his veins. He gave one final push.
A massive blast of power came from Bolts hands, and shattered Colby's stream of energy, sending him flying across the room. He hit the wall hard and slid down, slamming into the ground with a thud. Bolt fell to his knees and panted. He let his muscles relax after the incredible ordeal. He could still feel the power surging through his body, but it had begun to calm down. This new power, manipulating lightning, manipulating the speed-force… it was incredible.
Seeing as Colby was knocked out, Bolt made his way to Olive and took off his mask. He held her by the shoulders, "Olive what were you thinking?!" He said.
"I-I'm sorry!" She said, beginning to cry, "I-I just wanted to help-i_ I didn't think-"
Sean interrupted her with a tight hug, as he himself started to cry as well. Releasing the hug, he suddenly kissed her, tears falling onto her face.
When he pulled back, he widened his eyes, "… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
She suddenly kissed him back, holding the embrace for much longer. As shocked as Sean was, he accepted it and kissed her back, holding her close.
Olive finally got her answer.

The police arrived soon after, and detained Colby in the factory. Because he wasn't a Meta. He wasn't one of the escapees Peter was searching for, so he was sent directly to Iron Heights while he awaited his trial. Not even is first day, and he already had a visitor.
He sat down at the booth and picked up the phone, staring into the disappointed eyes of his sister, "Why did you rat me out?" He asked.
She was almost offended he had to ask, "You were hurting people. Why did you care so much about this stupid piece of technology?"
"You know why," Colby said, "I haven't forgotten what they did to you."
Rose paused, "… I don't give it any thought. But you shouldn't have done it, especially over me. I know L.S. Labs does some shady things. But you take things too far. You're extreme. You could have stopped but you didn't. That's why you're in here."
"Sure, sure," Colby scoffed, "You don't expect me to buy that do you? I know how you feel about all of this. You aren't fond of locking up people because they have powers. I know you aren't."
Rose darted her eyes away from him.
"That's what I thought," Colby said, then hung up the phone, and walked away, leaving Rose standing there with nothing but her thoughts and regrets.

Sean and Olive sat on the roof of a tall building, hanging their legs over the edge. It was snowing as the two just watched the flakes fall. "So…us," Olive started, "You… feel the same way?"
Sean nodded, "I wasn't sure ow to say it, but I do," He sighed, "Olive, you could have been hurt today."
Olive looked down in shame.
"But," Sean continued, "At the same time, you were brave," He took her by the hand, "Olive Gabriella Camilla," He said, "Will be my partner in crime, in sickness and in health, till death do us part?"
Olive chuckled, and took his hand, "I do."
He smiled, and gave her another kiss, "Merry Christmas," He said.
"Merry Christmas," She replied, kissing him back.

Sean entered his home slowly, and saw his parents in the kitchen. He made his way to them, hanging his head in silence.
"Hey," Ethan said, "Everything ok?"
Sean sighed, "I wanted to say that I was sorry," He said, "Earlier, I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you, it was wrong of me to do that."
"Well," Ethan said, "As long as you know it was wrong-"
"Ethan!" Abigail scolded, approaching Sean, "You shouldn't have taken your anger out on us, yes, but that doesn't mean you aren't allowed to be angry. If something is bothering you, just talk to us. Ok?"
Sean smiled, "Ok, thank you mom," he said, then went back to his room.
When he put his stuff on his bed, he stopped, "…did I call her …?" he smiled again.

THE BOLT

Colby sat down at the visitor booth, expecting to see his sister again. "What now Rose?" He instinctively said.
He was shocked to see the face of Peter Morrison sitting before him.
"Hello, Colby," He said, "How are you doing?"
Colby was silent for a moment. Why was Peter here? What more could he possibly want, "What are you doing here?" He asked coldly.
Peter pulled out his phone, "I wanted to talk to you, about this," He held the phone up to the glass. It played a video of the L.S Factory, where Colby and Bolt faced off, "You managed to drive him to the limits, and evolve his abilities to heights I didn't even know was possible," He put the phone away and leaned in, "I want you to do that again."
Colby scoffed, "In case you forgot, I'm stuck in here."
"When the time is right," Peter said, "That can be changed. Deal?"

Colby grinned.

Written by Timelord2024

I do not own the DC universe. This includes the CW Television Shows, ARROW, THE FLASH, LEGENDS OF TOMMOROW and SUPERGIRL.

All original characters are owned by Timelord2024

THE BOLT created by Timelord2024