Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry again that I definitely did not get this up as quick as I wanted to, but it is what it is I supposed. The action I promised is in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it! Also, just a quick PSA for anyone wondering: I have not forgotten about Shawna; she is not just abandoned and forgotten down in the Pipeline. You will see her again soon! Anyways, hope you like this chapter guys! This should be wrapping up somewhat soon? I will definitely miss writing it when it's over!
Sometimes, Iris really longed for the simplicity of her old life, before the Particle Accelerator exploded, before metahumans and the constant risking of their lives. This moment, as glass rained down around her and she saw the size of the rocks flying through the remains of the shattered window, was one of those times.
"Duck!" she yelled out, quite unnecessarily as Snart and Oliver moved quickly on their own out of the path of the projectiles. She dove to the right, narrowly avoiding a rock the size of her head. When she stood up again, her eyes drifted immediately back over to the angry meta girl, who now had multiple large rocks circling around her. Where all of them had come from, Iris had no idea, but it definitely spelled trouble for them.
"Last chance to leave," Stone growled angrily, eyes narrowed as Snart and Oliver also recovered and stood.
The three of them stood their ground.
"Okay, your funerals," the meta said coldly.
And that was the only warning they got before all hell broke loose.
The words had barely left the metahuman's mouth before the same large stone that Iris had barely avoided seconds ago was flung forward with startling force, barreling straight for Oliver. The vigilante twisted away at the last second, the projectile crashing into the wall rather then hitting him. He knocked an arrow and sent it flying towards the girl, who merely moved a rock in front of her for protection; the arrow bounced off harmlessly.
"Hmm, nice try," she said with a smirk, and suddenly the same rock she had used to protect herself was flung towards Snart, the one that had nearly hit Oliver floating back up from where it had crashed and circling back as well. Iris watched with wide eyes as Snart cursed and jumped out of the way of the object attempting to crush him, knocking into Oliver in the process and knocking the archer off his balance. The Green Arrow also cursed as he was knocked to the floor. With a frustrated yell, Iris flung herself at the source of the problem as Snart and Oliver attempted to disentangle themselves and stand again. She didn't make it very far.
"Don't think so," Stone hissed, and the journalist suddenly found herself quite literally in between a rock and a hard place. Unable to jump out of the way quick enough, she was thrown against the cement wall by one of the bigger rocks, letting out a yelp of pain as one of her ribs cracked; that definitely wasn't good. She sank to her knees on the floor, clutching at her chest with a pained look on her face. Kasey smirked - but it quickly fell from her face as she found an arrow lodged in her shoulder. The meta girl let out a shriek, stumbling backwards and barely managing to avoid the next one that came sailing her way. The rocks floating around her seemed to falter, losing altitude as her focus momentarily broke. It took her only seconds, however, to recover enough to send the largest in her arsenal flying right into Oliver, hitting the vigilante dead on. He was sent several feet backwards, falling on his back with a grunt.
Iris could see Snart freeze momentarily where he was standing, looking quickly back and forth between Oliver lying either stunned or unconscious on the floor and herself, clutching at her chest and struggling to stand. The journalist was sure he was regretting his choice to come with them, or at the very least wishing he had been able to grab his cold gun; it would have given their plans away to the others, however, if he had attempted to grab it. Kasey's hard eyes locked hungrily on the thief, seeing that he was the only one on his feet; Snart had only seconds to jump out of the way of not one but two large stones that were flung in his direction, attempting to lunge at her after the barrage. The meta girl simply called all of her projectiles back, forming a shield around herself.
"Too easy," she said with a laugh before sending all of them out at once. This time Snart wasn't spared, and fell very close to where Oliver was just starting to sit up.
Iris's heart thudded painfully against her chest, making the already terrible aching from her injury worse. She silently urged Oliver to get up faster as the meta's eyes flitted over to her again. She gritted her teeth, pulling herself to her feet through the pain and preparing herself for another attack - that didn't come.
"Freeze! CCPD!" The voice and footsteps that echoed through the room were enough to startle both Iris and the meta, heads whipping towards the stairs in time to see three figures practically jumping off the last step. Iris immediately identified them as none other than her father, Cisco, and Captain Singh. And while a part of her recognized the fact that she definitely in for a stern lecture from her father now that he had found her, the other part was quite grateful to see him, as well as the other two men. The detective and police captain both had guns pointed at Stone, and Cisco was holding the gun that would deploy the latest version of the Boot. The angry metahuman scowled at the three, clearly not pleased.
"Drop the rocks!" Singh yelled out, eyes locked on the threat.
"Gladly," the meta girl spat, and made a show of shifting the rocks above her before flinging them towards the newcomers. All of them, Iris noted thankfully, were quick to dodge out of the way and avoid injury, unlike the rest of them. Kasey, unrelentless, looked ready for more - until three arrows suddenly lodged themselves in her flesh, one in either shoulder and one sticking out of her abdomen. The meta cried out in agony, all projectiles dropping to the ground as she dropped to her knees. Iris turned her head to the left to see that Oliver had finally gotten himself up off the floor, his bow drawn and pointed directly at their foe.
"Game over," he growled. The girl tried weakly to stand, but Cisco was quick to step in, aiming his gun and shooting; the Boot latched perfectly around her ankle, tethering her to the cement and emitting an electric shock that sent her sprawling to the floor with a groan.
For a moment after, no one moved, everyone seeming to take in exactly what had just happened. Joe was the first to do something. The detective moved towards Iris with a frown and a look of concern written clearly across his face.
"Are you okay baby?" he asked, having noticed her expression and the way she was holding her chest. Iris nodded.
"Broken rib, I think. Nothing major," she said, trying for a smile that looked more like a grimace.
"Nothing major my ass," her father replied. "Caitlin's looking at that when we get back. And we are not done talking about this," he added, giving her a stern look before making his way over to the fallen meta. Cisco was already in the process of putting the power-dampening cuffs around her wrists while she was incapacitated, Singh overseeing the process with his gun still pointed at the girl - just in case. Though it didn't look like she would be trying anything else again anytime soon. With a sigh, Iris slowly walked over to where everyone else was gathered, giving Oliver a quick once-over.
"Nicely done," she told the archer with approval; Oliver simply nodded once in return to acknowledge her, his eyes locked firmly on what was happening with the metahuman in front of them. Her eyes next turned to Snart, who was cradling his left arm against his chest.
"Broken?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Snart shrugged using the arm that didn't appear useless.
"Probably. I've had worse," he said, sounding rather indifferent to the injury. She remembered Barry telling her once that Snart's father had been abusive; she turned her eyes away from him and tried not to think about it.
"I can take her to Iron Heights," Singh spoke up as Cisco finished securing the cuffs. "You all should head back to STAR, deal with Barry."
Joe shot his boss an appreciative look. "Thank you, David," he said sincerely; Singh gave a brief nod in response as Oliver had. "But first…"
The detective fished around in his pocket for a moment before pulling out a small syringe, crouching down beside the half-conscious girl. There was no hesitation as he uncapped it and slid it into the first vein he could find in her arm, pushing the plunger down until it was filled with blood. No one questioned what he was doing; they all knew very well. Though, Iris felt slightly abashed that she had not thought to bring one herself. It didn't matter, however; the deed was done, and everyone looked rather relieved at the prospect.
Iris gave a genuine smile for the first time in several days.
"Let's go fix Barry."
As she sat there keeping an extremely watchful eye on Barry, Caitlin had not thought to keep track of exactly how long the others had been gone. But every second that went by in their absence seemed to bring the doctor more and more anxiety. So when Felicity suddenly came hurrying into the med bay with a large smile on her face, it was a huge relief. Caitlin stood immediately, wringing her hands together despite the fact that everything had evidently gone okay.
"They got the blood sample," the blonde announced enthusiastically. "And have the meta in custody. Singh is bringing her to Iron Heights, the rest are on their way back."
Caitlin couldn't help the smile that started to spread across her own face at the news; the first good news in days.
"And they're all okay?" she asked.
"No serious injuries," Felicity assured. "It sounds like Iris might have broken a rib and Snart probably broke his arm. Oliver insisted he was fine, but he's definitely getting checked out," she added sternly. "Cisco, Joe and Singh are fine."
Caitlin felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
"That's great," she said.
Felicity glanced over at Barry, who was still lying unmoving and pale on the bed.
"How's he holding up?" she asked; some of the weight found its way back to Caitlin's shoulders, and her smile fell.
"Not great," she said. "His fever's gone up a degree just since they've left. But once I get my hands on the blood sample they're bringing back, and should be able to have a cure whipped up quickly."
The doctor looked over at Barry herself, her stomach twisting a bit as she thought of the earlier incident between them, when he had been lucid for a few seconds. She moved a little closer to his bedside, her hand gently moving a stray piece of hair out of his face. Felicity had evidently noticed the mood change.
"He'll be fine, then," she said. "So what's bothering you?" The hacker's voice was prodding in a caring way, her tone gentle. Caitlin closed her eyes momentarily, letting out a sigh; she didn't answer right away.
"It's just - earlier, Barry woke up," she said finally, and Felicity's eyebrows shot up.
"And?"
Caitlin bit her lip. "It was just for a few seconds," she said softly. "But he saw me, and - he thought I wasn't real," she admitted. "Like he thought I was a hallucination or something, or he was crazy. And I want to just attribute it to his fever, but I don't know. What if he's traumatized? Or brain damaged, or something? I can't do a CAT Scan here, and we can't exactly move him because his identity is out in the in the open and there's a freaking mob surrounding the place and I -"
"Caitlin!" Felicity interrupted, placing her hands firmly on the other woman's shoulders. "Breathe, girl."
Caitlin paused in her babbling, taking a moment to do as Felicity had instructed and take a deep breathe.
"You," the hacker continued, "Are an amazing doctor. If something is wrong with Barry, I have faith that you'll figure it out. And you're not in this alone, okay? We're all here. And we may not have Ph. D's, but that sure as hell doesn't mean we're not going to help."
Caitlin forced herself to take another deep breath and nodded, some of the tension evidently leaving her body.
"Thanks, Felicity," she said, her voice slightly shaky but a small smile making its way back onto her face.
"Any time."
The two might have shared more words, but the moment was declared over by the sound of footsteps and multiple voices reaching them from down the hallway.
The others were back.
You are hereby spared of a terrible cliffhanger. You're welcome. Hope you all liked the chapter! Until next time guys!