++++++MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!

It's December 25th here in Australia and my house is a total mess but my fourteen month old is out like a light.

I didn't think I'd get a chapter up today but here it is.

We'll be out for lunch today and dinner tonight but I hope to work on Jiating tonight.

I hope you enjoy.

I do not own ++++++

Eight

The next morning after checking in at Bìnàn, I made my way to STAR Labs to try and have another conversation with Barry about his archaic view of me fighting crime. I let myself in, not giving a shit about security because let's face it, this place has none. Approaching the control room, I could hear them all talking about this Danton Black guy.

"Captain Clone!" Cisco shouted out in excitement. After a few seconds of silence, he laughed nervously. "Don't worry. I'll come up with something cooler."

"Barry where are you going?" Caitlin asked Barry.

"Joe was right. I'm in way over my head," Barry objected. "Yeah I'm fast, but I am no warrior. Man I could barely fight one meta-human, let alone six."

"Barry, I understand today was a setback," Wells started to speak, "but any grand enterprise has them. And we can never learn to fly without crashing a few times."

"This wasn't a grand enterprise, Doctor Wells, this was a mistake," Barry dejected.

"A mistake was refusing my help," I replied, waltzing in like I owned the place. "And interfering in the first place, Barry. I could have had him."

Barry turned around. "Charlie-look I'm sorry but-"

"But what?!" I snapped. "You told Joe when you had no right to tell Joe! This was my secret to tell! How about I waltz up to Iris and tell her that you're this blur guy running around the city?"

"No!" he objected. "You can't tell Iris!"

I crossed my arms. "Why? Because it's your secret?"

Barry was quiet. "I'm sorry I told him. Look, I really am sorry." He crossed the room and stood in front of me. "I really am sorry, Charlie. You just took me by surprise is all."

I sat down on one of the tables. "Barry-I chose this. The night Joe let these freaking leaches take you I left Central. What was happening I couldn't control it and I needed someone who could teach me how to. So I asked the Starling City vigilantes to help me. I can look after myself. You have your speed on your side but trust me when I say I could knock you flat on your ass without the speed."

"Oh this I have to see," Cisco grinned.

"I definitely agree with you," Wells stated.

"This is a really bad idea," Caitlin voiced. "Like, really bad. I am not cleaning this place up again."

"I am not fighting you," Barry scoffed.

"And therein lies your problem," I told him. "You rely on your abilities. I can live without mine. Keep using your powers as your main strength you'll fail a lot more then you'll succeed."

"Come on, Barry," Cisco begged. "Please fight your sister-my god that sounded worse that I actually thought it would."

Barry crossed the room with a sigh. "For future reference, I'm sorry if I hurt you."

I dumped my bag on the table beside me and jumped down. Barry took a deep breath and blurred over towards me. I flung my arm out, hitting my brother in the throat before delivering a spinning kick to his chest, sending him across the other side of the room.

Barry gasped when he picked himself up. "That hurt. What the hell was that?" he asked.

"River I don't know if this is a good idea," I whispered. "I can't fight crime. I'm a dancer, not a warrior."

She patted my shoulder. "Charlie-you are a dancer and we will use that to our advantage. Have you ever watched Firefly and Serenity?" she inquired.

I nodded. "Yeah. Loved it."

"Well River Tam was a dancer," she reminded me. "What we'll do is teach a version of martial arts called Capoeira. It's a Brazilian martial arts that combines elements of dance, acrobatics and music. You'll need a dance instructor."

"It's called Capoeira," Caitlin told Barry. "It's a Brazilian martial arts that combines dance and acrobatics. You're very good at it," she told me. "Now if you two are done playing, we need to figure out how to find Black."

"We?" I asked her.

Caitlin rolled her eyes. "It would serve us well if at least one of you knows how to handle yourselves. After what happened last year, my money is on you, Charlotte."

"What happened last year?" Barry inquired.

Caitlin coughed. "When Charlotte came to us for a cure to the Mirakuru, the labs got attacked. The only reason we knew that the cure worked was because we tested it out on the guy that attacked us. By the way-we never did find out what happened to the guy who was responsible for the attack on the city went."

"Slade Wilson?" I asked and she nodded. "Lian Yu. ARGUS has a prison under the island for supervillains. Son of a bitch is there."

"Hey when did you get a tattoo?" Barry suddenly asked, seeing the ouroboros tattoo on the back of my neck.

"It's for Sara," I told him. "You remember Sara?"

"That's Laurel's sister isn't it?" he asked me. "Why did you get a tattoo for Sara?"

"She's dead," I answered. "So tell me about this Black guy-he can clone himself, right? Simple. Take out the head clone. The real Black."

"Easier said than done," Wells told me. "Figuring out who the real Black is when he can clone himself in perfect copies will be some task."

"Did you know that the human body is seventy percent water?" I asked him. "Well of course you do. You're a scientists. So these clones will have a full working system of blood and tissue and organs?"

"I assume so," Caitlin frowned.

"You assume so?" I asked. "Well, Barry put your giant red neon sign on. You and I are going clone hunting. Well catch you a clone in a giant butterfly net to study."

"The sarcasm isn't appreciated," Wells told me.

"Yeah, yeah," I waved him off. I walked into the next room to take my clothes off and activate my suit. I came out and Barry was waiting for me.

"So you need to be on channel hundred and eighty four," Cisco informed me. "How do you get communications on that thing?"

I came around behind him and put my hand on the computer monitor that controlled the communications. A small blob of my suit peeled off and melted into the computer. The sound of radio waves suddenly filled my head. "Yeah I got it."

"That was freaking cool!" Cisco laughed. "What is that made out of? Can I have a sample?"

"It's patented technology," I replied. "I don't think Wayne Technology wants to share."

"What's Bruce Wayne got to do with this?" Cisco asked.

Wells shook his head. "Never mind. Can you two work together without getting into a fight? Remember Barry, be careful of the calories you burn otherwise we'll have another fainting situation."

"Dude you fainted?" I asked.

"Shut up," Barry muttered. "So how do you suppose we do this? Find a clone?"

"We usually went to the last scene and worked it out from there," I shrugged. "Can I have a lift?" I asked.

Barry snaked his arm around my waist and we blurred out of STAR Labs. What a rush. I could definitely find this addictive in the future.