Central City.
It's been two months since Thea joined up with Team Flash in taking down threats to Central City from both human and Meta-Humans threats. During that time, Thea opened a Central City version of her club, Verdant, and used it as a cover to explain her presence in Central City to anyone who asked. As for her other nightly activities as the Red Arrow, Cisco upgraded her uniform to a lightweight Kevlar weave armour, still with her hood and mask, that still gave her full freedom of motion. She also had a new lightweight bow that Cisco helped to develop, along with various arrows that used non-lethal, but painful, methods of putting down any criminal. Among the new arrows were Thea's favourite; the ones that released an electrical charge into the offender's skin or light armour. The new Red Arrow was helped by Wally and his holographic Flash, the both of them working together as if it was something they had been doing for years, impressing even Oliver.
During the two months Cisco continued with the search for Barry an hour a day, and had already gone through nearly two hundred and forty-eight Earth's. An this included Earth thirty Eight, the Earth which Kara Danvers lived and worked. Cisco's breach opened up at just the right point in time to distract the real Hank Henshaw from nearly killing her after he was transformed into a Cyborg by CADMUS. During their down times, Cisco and Caitlin worked with Dr. McGee on creating technology for the Central City Police Department in holding the Meta-humans who were captured ever since Barry went missing.
And it was an increase in the number of meta-human incidents that seemed to slowly rise despite the presence of both holographic Flash and Red Arrow. There were times when the holographic Flash wasn't enough, and the team had to call in the newly powered Jessie Wells - a fact that was shocking to Wally who was also bombarded with dark energy during the 'meta-pocalyspse'. Even Jessie, who was the Earth Two version of the Flash, Jessie Quick, said that it seemed odd that the rogue Meta-humans somehow seemed to have information that the Flash was missing.
It was only a day ago that Jessie left Earth One once again after helping STAR Labs fight off a meta-human with Red Arrow by her side, the both of whom became surprisingly fast friends from the first time they met. Since then, Jessie would occasionally come to Earth One even when she wasn't needed, especially for her dates with Wally who eventually was over his jealousy in Jessie having powers.
In the meantime, while everyone was keeping themselves busy, Laurel refused to see anyone; not Thea, Oliver, or even her own father. Oliver and Captain Lance would visit STAR Labs and watched the young woman through the monitors, but Laurel would even refuse to listening to anything they had to say. Eventually, Oliver told Thea that he'll come by when Laurel wanted to talk... that being Green Arrow and the Mayor of Start City was had enough without seeing the doppelganger of the person he loved. However, Quinten still took a day trip to Central City for a few days to just see his daughter, even if it was through the monitor.
However, this would be the fateful day when Laurel, after weeks of being told by Thea that Quintin was her to just talk to her, finally gave in. At the same time there was a man in a black vest, his bare arms showing off his toned muscles, and hands clenched into fists walking up to the chain link fence that surrounded STAR Labs. He approached the 'danger' sign and a smile formed on his face.
"Let's see if the rumours are true," he whispered with a sneer of contempt on his face as he stared at the building through the chain link fence. The man, named Rodney Green, had been studying reports of a red streak that would run past STAR Labs before sightings of the Flash were reported in the city. The Flash was seen all over the city, but the common factor was STAR Labs… he heard from contacts that a red blur and yellow lightning would usually appear in the vicinity. Rodney wondered how it was that the other Meta-humans never suspected STAR Labs of having a connection to the Flash. But he wasn't complaining; he believed in his gut, as did many of the other Meta-humans, that the Flash was gone… that he wasn't in Central City anymore. The frequent sightings of the Red Arrow arriving at a crime scene before the Flash was highly suspicious among a majority of the Meta-Human population.
"And I'm going to prove it," said Rodney as he flexed his fingers, which caused his hands to glow a bright red.
At that same time, Thea and Captain Lance were in the pipeline staring at Laurel. Once she would pound on the glass with her fists and demand to be let out. But now, Laurel just stood where she was and stared past her reflection at her father.
"Laurel," said Captain Lance as he took another step further after Thea said that she'll give them some privacy. Captain Lance looked at the young woman and nodded his head. She then turned to Laurel, gave a small smile which wasn't returned and then walked away, closing the door to the pipeline behind her. Once the door slid shut, Captain Lance took another step forward while Cisco and Caitlin were watching the two of them from the Cortex.
"Hello, Daddy," said Laurel mockingly. At that same time, at the wire fence, Rodney stared at the STAR Labs building while the skin on his arms started to ripple and glow a deep red. Then deep red and black gashes appeared on his arms while what seemed to look like magma flowed from the tears in his skin. The liquid moved smoothly over the gashes and started to cover his arms. Some of the liquid dripped down to the cement pavement which soon started to smoke and then melt.
Back in the pipeline, Captain Lance asked Laurel, "You… you wanted to talk to me, sweetheart?" Quintin Lance knew that this wasn't his daughter. He had been telling himself that ever since he first laid his eyes upon Black Siren. He was always telling himself that he had to go and talk to her… that she was his daughter and he needed to find out why she was so angry, and why she took Zoom's side in Earth Two.
"Thea thinks that I need to talk to you since you're here like clockwork. She thinks that it's a good thing if I tell you my sob story," said Lauren who was now wearing a grey jumpsuit, "although you should know that I hate you."
"I… I'm not him," stammered Captain Lance while shaking his head, "I am not that man, and…"
"The day I found out that Oliver and Sara were on the boat when it sank, was the day I was destroyed," said Laurel as she placed both her hands on the glass, "it was the same day of the dark matter explosion from STAR Labs. It was the day you tried to kill me, the day you…"
"Kill you?" asked the Captain confused, "why would I want to kill you?"
"You hated me for introducing your dearest Sara to Oliver," said Laurel tilting her head before she yelled, "of course, why wouldn't I want to introduce the LOVE OF MY LIFE to my family!"
"Laurel," Captain Lance shook his head.
"And then… and then when the Queens Gambit sank, I found out that Sara… my dear idiotic sister was screwing my boyfriend behind my back!" Laurel continued to yell while Captain Lance looked away. He remembered how he felt the day he and his Laurel found out that Oliver and Sara were supposedly dead. Captain Lance looked back up at Laurel whose eyes were already reddened as she slammed her fist on the glass door. She sneered at the man before telling him that she was hit by the dark matter wave several minutes after the news hit the air waves.
"I came home after the wave hit me, after it went through me," Laurel said, "and I find you drinking. DRINKING! You blamed me for losing your precious Sara! Me!"
"I'm sorry," said Captain Lance took a deep breath while putting his hands on the glass and looking into the rage that built up in Laurel's eyes, "I'm so sorry. It… it wasn't your fault, Laurel. It… it wasn't your fault."
Laurel laughed while moving her head back as she stepped back before saying that his gun was in his hand before he raised it, and then took a shot at her. Captain Lance listened as Laurel described how she ran out of the apartment, but a bullet went through her shoulder.
"Oh God, honey," said Captain Lance as he shook his head while rubbing the bridge of his nose in disbelieve, "I…."
"I don't know why," said Laurel glaring at Captain Lance, "I just wanted to scream. Scream from the pain, scream because my sister and boyfriend betrayed me, screamed because they were dead, and I wanted to scream because my own father shot me. I screamed and sent you flying into a wall. You fell, and threatened me. You said you'll came after your freak of a daughter, and… and I left. The first meta-human I met was Zoom, and he took me under his wing. And the rest is history."
"I can't excuse what he did," said Captain Lance as he looked at Laurel, "but it was wrong."
"Now you know why I hate you," hissed Laurel, "now get out, and pray I don't leave this cell."
By this time, Thea entered the cortex and then walked to Caitlin's side while Cisco was opening one breach after another in the search for Barry. It was then that the alarms went off with Cisco stopping what he was doing and then rushing to a monitor with Caitlin and Thea. He then called for Dr. Magee to meet them at the Cortex while watching a stranger grab a section of the chain link fence with his hands. They watched with eyes wide open at the metal melting away as he stepped into the parking lot, and then ran towards the building.
"Ok," said Caitlin as she watched the stranger walk through the fence and into the parking lot, "that's new." She then turned to Cisco and had him contact Jessie in Earth Two while she ran for a phone and contacted Captain Lance.
In the meantime, Thea went off to put in her uniform while Cisco closed his eyes and vibed to Earth Two, and asked Jessie for help. However, all he saw was Jessie fighting off something he couldn't believe even though he was seeing it with her own eyes; aliens. Jessie told the astral form of the young man that she'll be with him soon… that she and some of the other heroes in Earth Two were working with Harry to push back an alien invasion. Jessie told Cisco that she would have Harry contact Jay Garrick, who went home a few weeks after arriving in Earth Two after helping to put down a meta-human war to fill in the vacuum left by Zoom.
Cisco told her that he understood, and wished her luck before disengaging his powers. It was just then that Dr. McGee rushed into the Cortex. Cisco told her that they were going to be fighting by themselves for now, or at least until Joe arrived with back-up.
"Captain Lance," said Caitlin over the speakers as the older man looked up at the camera behind him in the pipeline after having heard Laurel tell him off once again, "we have a situation in the Cortex. The pipeline's going into lockdown. We could sure use you out here."
"On my way," said Captain Lance before he turned and looked at Laurel glaring back at him, "I'm sorry he tried to kill you, Laurel. I realize now that's a part of what made you go to Zoom. I'm so sorry. But… but I… I have my fault. I don't deny that. I guess what I'm trying to say is that…"
"I don't want your pity," hissed Laurel.
"You're not my Laurel," said Captain Lance gently, "and I'm not your father. But that doesn't mean that I don't care about you, honey. That's why I keep coming back every week.. that's why Oliver keeps coming back every week. And you didn't talk to either of us… at least until now."
"Well, again, now you know why I hate you," said Laurel as Quentin pressed a button that opened the door to the pipeline, "and I don't want to hear the pathetic Thea begging me to talk to you anymore."
"I don't know if these guys told you," Quentin said as he turned around and stepped backwards into the hallway that led to the pipeline, "but Sara and your mother are alive."
"What?" asked Laurel in surprise, "no…"
"They don't know about you. Your mother and I are… well, we're not in a good place. And Sara's off on her own adventures," said Quentin, "maybe one day they will know and… and I hope when that day comes, the both of us could meet them together."
"I…" mumbled Laurel as she looked at the door sliding down. This information was something she hadn't expected to hear. Thea hadn't told her, nor had Team Flash… and this led to Laurel not knowing how to feel. Laurel lowered her head while Captain Lance's voice saying that no matter what she thought about him, he'll still love her as he would his own Laurel continued to ring in her ears.
"Mom's alive?" asked Laurel as she stumbled backwards and leaned against the wall inside the cell. She slid down as the doorway closed, and sat on the floor as she recalled the last time she and Sara visited their mother's grave after she died in a car accident. Laurel put her hand over her eyes as she hung her head, and her body trembled.
However, no one was able to see this moment since all the screens in the Cortex where turned to the stranger who fired streams of what seemed to be molten lava on a concrete wall. They watched the wall melt away as the stranger made his way into the hallway.
"I know the Flash isn't here," he yelled looking into the camera, "I'm going to make my name by killing the back-up behind the so-called fastest man alive."
"Cisco," said Dr. McGee, "we need something to hold off this young man."
"Looks like he fired off some kind of a magma stream and… oh, oh, Magma… I named him."
"Cisco!" yelled Caitlin.
"Cisco," said Thea as she walked back into the room in her uniform, "anything?"
"I sort of have an idea," said Cisco as he looked at Thea, and then at Captain Lance who rushed into the Cortex asking what was going on. Caitlin and Dr. McGee filled him in while Cisco asked Thea to hold Magma back somehow.
"You better have a good plan," said Thea.
"I always do," chuckled Cisco as he patted her shoulder before running off.
It would be ten minutes later, after leading Magma in a wild goose chase until the right moment presented itself, Cisco's idea of encasing the stranger in ice backfired spectacularly. The cold temperatures fired by the prototype Cold Gun were no match for how hot Magma was able to make his body. By now, Dr. McGee and Captain Lance had pulled back into the time vault while Cisco, Thea, and Caitlin were facing Magma, taunting him to follow them; all so that they could make him chase them to one of the lower rooms where they stored liquid nitrogen.
It was going to be their 'hail Mary'.
They never made it there. Magma shattered the ice that encased him, and then fired streams of magma directly at Cisco and the others.
"Run!" screamed Caitlin as the stream approached them. However, they were rooted at the spot in fear as a wall of magma approached them; the heat already starting to melt the walls. Suddenly, the air started to get chilly as their breath condensed in the air. Almost immediately, the wall of magma slowed down as it started to crystalize and then ice over. Cisco and Thea looked over at a panting Caitlin whose hair had turned white. The floor underneath her was frosting over while her eyes and lips turned a bright blue. They could see icy mist coming off her body and freezing the ceiling above and she stepped forward and tapped the iced up magma.
"Caitlin," said a concerned Cisco as he recalled Killer Frost from Earth Two, "whatcha doing?"
Caitlin ignored Cisco and Thea as the ice shattered to reveal a stunned Magma.
"Fire and ice, what do you…"
"Shut up," whispered Caitlin as she tilted her head while Magma's arms started to tremble. He then started to shiver as the glow in his arms started to fade while he wrapped them around himself and shivered. His mouth was chattering while struggling to ask what was happening to him. However, Cisco and Thea knew what was happening as they watched frost covering the man's arms from the inside out.
"Caitlin," said Thea taking a step forward just before she was suddenly pulled away, and shielded by Cisco, when Magma's rapidly frozen body exploded. Once all the frozen debris was on the floor, Cisco and Thea looked back at Caitlin who looked at her hands, and then back at the two of them.
"Gu… guys?" asked a stunned Caitlin Snow with wisps of mist rising from her hands, "what.. what's happening to me?"
Sunnydale, Unknown Earth, One year and two months since Barry's arrival.
It has been little over a year since Barry arrived on this new Earth, and he had all but lost hope in Cisco bringing his back to Earth One. Due to the possibility of spending years in this particular Earth, and even with Willow trying a very powerful spell that had could have sent some sort of a signal to Cisco, Barry knew he had to move on with his life.
However, the spell was a failure since he still remained in Sunnydale. So Barry started his new life with an open mind by making a symbolic first gesture. It was only a week ago that he moved to a new one bedroom apartment with the help of Buffy, Dawn, Giles, and Xander while Anya stayed busy at the Magic Box. He even bought some basic furniture such as a couch and a bed, instead of continuing to sleep on air-mattresses.
Barry was having fun teaching at Sunnydale Middle School; his students liked him, so did the teachers, and the parents… some of whom discreetly tried to make a pass at him. He still remembered the mother of one of his students asking to talk to him about her son after dinner over six months ago. The young man could only chuckle nervously before shaking his head and saying it would be improper for a teacher to go out with a student's parent.
"There's no such rule," the parent then smirked before walking away with her son. The truth was that he didn't want to go out with her… nor did he want to go out with anyone. But now, Barry knew that he had to try to move on with his life. He knew that, while he still loved Iris, he had to look towards the future.
And it was over the last month that he sensed both Tara and Willow pushing him, in their own clandestine way, towards Buffy. He had gotten close to the two witches; with Willow he was able to discuss science and technology.. basically, the two geeked out over the same things which made the incoherent babbling between them fun to hear. As for Tara, Barry simply felt comfortable around her. He couldn't tell if it was because of her simplicity or quiet strength, but he felt extremely comfortable around her. As for Giles and Joyce, he got on well with the both of them as well; the latter having slowly become something of a mother figure to him. He'd have fun with Xander and had no problems in spending time with Anya. Barry and Dawn got on well too, the speedster was able to guess that the young girl could probably be a certified genius. He compared her and Willow with Caitlin and Felicity; two genius level women who had the world at their finger tips.
Between all of them though, Barry thought that he and Buffy were in similar circumstances in terms of their powers. The both of them had to live double lives while helping and saving people. They fought dark forces that threatened to uproot life as they knew it, and the both of them had power given to them by fate. Buffy was a mystically powered warrior, and Barry was chosen by the bolt of lightning that gave him his powers.
Barry would help Buffy and the other Scoobies beat back a few demons whenever they would ask for help. But for the majority of the time, Barry dealt with crime in Sunnydale, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles while Buffy dealt with the supernatural. Then there was the situation with Spike, he wasn't seen in Sunnydale following Barry transporting him to an island in the South Pacific.
The truth was no one knew exactly where he was.
After a day of classes, work, stopping demons, and stopping crime in three major cities, the Scoobies and Barry met at the Bronze. It was a daily ritual that the Scoobies introduced to Barry so that they could unwind after a hectic day. With the music pumping from the wall mounted speakers, the group found a cozy nook close to the dance floor, and then took some seats on the couches. Barry was sitting next to Buffy while Tara was with Willow, and Anya with Xander.
"Drinks?" asked Xander as he stood up from his couch. Everyone gave their drink orders to Xander, and then Willow and Tara got up to accompany him to the bar. With Barry and Buffy together looking at the field of dancing bodies, Tara nudged him as she passed the young man. Barry looked up and narrowed his eyes at the blonde witch who looked back at him. He saw a playful glint in her eyes as she nodded towards Buffy while the Slayer was leaning forward while looking at the people dancing. She was scanning for any possible vampires before she turned towards Barry who looked away after sticking his tongue at a chuckling Tara who just walked away.
She glanced over at Barry who was tapping his foot on the ground to the beat of the music while looking at the floor. Buffy could see that he was trying to hide a smirk on his face, and it made her wonder what he was thinking. After everything that happened with Angel; an ensouled Vampire who was centuries older than her with a penchant for losing his soul if he had a moment of pure happiness, and thus becoming a dangerous beast, Buffy wasn't sure about being in a relationship again.
And then there was Riley. He was supposed to be the normal, grounded guy. But he kept secret the fact that he was part of the Initiative, a military project. And even after telling Buffy the truth, she felt that that he was too needy, 'no, not needy. I loved him but there was something about the both of us that made it impossible to work. I guess there was a part of him that felt jealous that I had all of this power, and maybe I didn't give him a lot of my time. But… I don't know. Maybe I was right in going after him that night when he left? Maybe it made me realize that I didn't need him.'
She then looked away and pretended to read a magazine while leaning back on her seat. Buffy felt that Barry had the possibility of being in between Riley and Angel. He was slightly older than her, he wouldn't lose his soul, and he had his own powers so he understood the responsibility that she had with her own abilities. And he had been a CSI, and was now a teacher; Buffy felt he was in a slightly better place than her and better grounded than the others she had dated before.
'I'm not talking about dating,' thought Buffy to herself as she put the magazine on the table in front of them, and then turned towards Barry, 'say something. You've known this guy for a little over a year, so say something.'
"Still nothing from Cisco?" whispered Buffy leaning into Barry's left shoulder over the din of the thumping music while, at the same time, Buffy was mentally screaming at herself, 'that's the best thing you could say?!'.
"Nothing," answered Barry into Buffy's ear, "I have to hope that he's still searching for me, but I don't know how long it's going to take for him to find me. And this is like the fourth time you asked."
"I know," chuckled Buffy as she turned towards Barry and without realizing it she swept some of her own blonde hair behind her ear, "I guess we've gotten used to having you around in Sunnydale. I mean Dawn, Tara, Willow and the others would hate to see you go back home."
"And you won't?" asked Barry as Buffy frowned.
"You know, we really never did start off on the right foot when we first met," said Buffy, changing the subject, into his ear as the floor slightly shuddered thanks to the footfalls on the dance floor, "and I never apologized for being so… well, like a jerk."
"You were suspicious," said Barry shrugging his shoulders, "and I didn't really do my bit to mix around with you guys. Plus there was the whole secret identity thing, So I guess the both of us are at fault."
"Yea," said Buffy nodding her head.
"Listen," said Barry, "I know it's kind of out of the blue, and I really haven't said anything about this for the past year and… well… after work tomorrow, you wanna grab a drink? A coffee at the Espresso Pump?"
"What about… well, Iris?" asked Buffy as she stared at Barry.
"Honestly? She's still going to be with me in my heart where-ever I go," said Barry, "but I guess it's time I started to move on. So, if you don't mind my baggage, would you like to grab a coffee tomorrow?"
"As long as you don't mind my own baggage?" asked Buffy with an eye-brow raised.
"So, coffee?" nodded Barry.
"Coffee it is then," said Buffy nodding her head, "Coffee it is."
TBC.