STAR Labs, a day after Laurel's talk with Oliver.
With her metahuman power suppressing bracelets activated, Laurel took in a deep breath as the glass door to her cell slid open with a hiss. She nodded at both Oliver and Quentin standing on the other side as took a step back while Oliver tightened his grip on the bow he was holding in one hand. His other hand was ready to reach for an arrow just in case Laurel tried to escape while the latter stepped out of the cell and onto the walkway that led out of the Pipeline. She knew that this was all a precaution while Joe, Thea, and Wally stood at the mouth of the hallway that led to the metahuman prison. Laurel knew that this was it… this was the day that a device would be implanted near her spine at the base of her neck. It was going to be a risky surgery, but it would ensure that Laurel would never try to disable the device since there was a chance she'll be paralysed or dead.
The young woman knew that they didn't trust her. And she accepted it; she accepted it would take time for them to trust her… if ever.
'No, Thea has a little trust in me,' she thought to herself as she looked at Thea who was holding onto her bow with a loose grip. Laurel then looked at Quentin, 'he trusts me… or at least he wants to trust me. He… He's so different. Nothing like dad or… I don't know. He knows what I did, but he still wants to help me and… and well, I can't deny what I did. I worked for Zoom, I killed people in what these people call Earth Two. I killed people here… and despite all that, he things I can be redeemed. Does that make him a fool or… or does he… does he really believe that I can be redeemed?'
She then glanced at Oliver, 'Oliver still doesn't trust me. Can't blame him. Robert never trusted me either. He did try to bring me in multiple times and… ah well, like father, like son. But… but I still loved my Oliver despite my heartbreak. I loved him, and I loved his family. And here he is… preparing to shoot me if I even try screaming.'
"I meant what I said. I'll show you I can be redeemed, Ollie," Laurel said as Quintin gently grabbed her arm and squeezed. Laurel turned to look at Quentin who gave her a small smile. Laurel slightly nodded her head before being guided to one of the labs where Caitlin and Dr. McGee were waiting for her.
Before heading into another room to change into a surgical gown, Laurel turned to Oliver and Quentin once again. She took a deep breath before opening her lips to say a word. But before she could, Quentin stepped forward and grabbed her shoulders. Laurel closed her eyes as Quentin kissed her cheek before whispering that he'll be the first person she sees when she wakes up. Laurel looked into his eyes, and knew he meant every word.
She nodded her head as he placed a hand on her cheek while Oliver said that it would take time to earn redemption.
"And you've taken the first step," he said loosening his grip on his bow. Laurel nodded her head, and the turned to Thea before saying that she was ready.
"Let's get going then," Thea replied as she led Laurel away to a room to get changed. It would be a few days later that Laurel would be fully recovered from the surgery, with a scar at the back of her neck being the tell-tale sign for her that she was tagged. Laurel was then teamed up with Thea, with Oliver and Quentin's approval, in running patrols in the city. Laurel would be surprised a day after her surgery to learn that Wally was the new Flash, and that Caitlin had ice-powers. She even offered to help train Caitlin in the use of her powers since she knew Killer Frost and her abilities.
It was an offer that Caitlin would accept after several weeks.
In the meantime, Laurel became a member of the team. And after two months, she was given a room in STAR Labs. Of course, she was still watched by Thea very closely. She was present the day that a very nervous Cisco asked Thea out on a date, and she chuckled when Thea started stammering a reply before saying yes… after several minutes. She was with the team when they put down several meta-human attacks in the city over a month before everyone agreed to leak a new codename for the young woman.
And thus, Nightwing was born. Before long, Cisco created a brand new civilian identity for her
Laurel was on the road to redemption with Iris, Thea and Quentin her biggest supporters. It would be much later, three months after her surgery that she was officially introduced to her 'mother' on Earth One; Laurel hugged Dinah tight as the both of them cried in each other's arms. And it would be the same when Cisco finally called on the Waverider; and Laurel met her sister- the both of them held on tight for several hours before Laurel made a full disclosure of who she was and what she was doing to fix her mistakes.
Central City, 0300 hours; six months after Laurel's surgery. A total of eight months since Barry vanished.
His body was cold. This was not an aberration since, in fact, his body was supposed to be cold.
He released a groan before slowly opened his eyes while laying on his back on the cold, wet, and hard ground. His vision quickly cleared before finding himself staring at the stars overhead. He could also hear the sounds of cars driving by and people talking while going about their business in the distance before he, thinking it was a dream, took in a deep breath through his nose. He pursed his lips together in confusion… he could catch the scent of hundreds of humans nearby going about doing what they do in their pitiful little lives. After what happened, he knew he should be able to even take in the scent of humans.
'Where am I?'
In addition to the humans, he also took in the scent of rats – along with other critters - and the odour from the trash inside the metal dumpsters. He then heard footsteps running towards him and took in the sweet rose scented perfume coming from who he guessed was a woman.
"Hey… is anyone there?" Upon hearing the voice of the woman, he realized this was not a dream. He was aware that, ever since he was killed by a certain blonde Slayer, he had been covered in darkness. That was all he remembered… cold, lonely, deep darkness. And now he felt life all around him, starting with the racing heartbeat of the woman running towards him. And then he felt the familiar pangs of hunger overcome him. He was so ravenous. It was as if he was killed only yesterday but his body told him he hadn't fed for years. Oh, how hungry he was. He could hear the blood rushing through the veins and heart of the woman… the scent of the perfume now giving way to the familiar scent of blood as she neared the corner in the small alley.
Once he heard the woman get closer; her footsteps slowed. She was walking cautiously as she avoided a small puddle while coming closer to his location.
"Hello, I heard a scream," she yelled, "is anyone there? Are you alright?"
The man slowly sat up before slowly coming up to his feet. As he did so, he was staring at the corner where his meal should be making her way in a few seconds.
It would be two seconds later he saw the concerned woman who was wearing a dark blue jacket, jeans, and a red blouse make her appearance into his line of sight. She turned into the corner… and when she did, the woman stared with wide eyes at the figure in front of her. He could see her step back in horror, her eyes staring at his pale hairless head, the short stubbed nose, the rows of sharp teeth with pronounced fangs, red eyes and pointed ears. He could tell that she was terrified and about to scream… but before she could yell out in horror at his appearance, he leapt at her.
As he leapt through the air, before grabbing onto the struggling woman with a snarl, he felt her fear. It was a feeling that he missed causing other human as he heard her heartbeat quicken, and thus causing her blood racing through her body faster and faster. The young woman with pink hair then screamed "oh my God!" just as he swung her behind him by the arms and then threw her down onto the ground. He was standing over her now, his demonic visage causing her to hyperventilate while tears streamed down her cheeks. They were away from the eyes of any human; it was just her and him in the alley and they were surrounded by windowless walls. He then got down on one knee while she was scrambling away. And just before she out of reach, he thrust his arm down and grabbed her ankle. He then pulled her roughly towards him while growling.
"Help!" the woman screamed out loud before he roughly put his pale hand over her mouth, squeezed her jaw, and then turned her head to the left roughly. Tears continued down her cheeks as she tried to scream for help, hoping that Kid Flash, Flash, or Red Arrow would save her. But the man she saw as a literal monster never allowed a sound to escape her lips thanks to the vice like grip of his hand over her mouth while the other hand held down her shoulder.
She then heard a deep growl before sharp teeth pierced her skin. In the end, the woman closed her eyes, gritting her teeth in pain as she felt her body growing cold. She wanted to cry as thoughts of her parents and brother floated through her memories while the monster dug his fangs further into her neck and drew more blood.
As he slurped the blood shooting into his mouth, the man groaned at the feeling of the warm, sweet liquid. He moaned in pleasure as his mind flashed back to the blonde Slayer he was fighting years ago. The very same blonde Slayer that he had killed, who then came back to life and in turn killed him. He remembered the large wooden stake that he fell into before turning to dust, and he wanted to pay the Slayer back for that humiliation. Oh how he wanted to pay her back.
And now, as he drew his lips back, lifted his head, and flung the dead body away, the man got up to his feet and sensed for the very person he wanted to kill again – the Slayer. He concentrated, but couldn't sense her anywhere nearby. In fact, he needed to know how it was that he was still standing instead of being surrounded by the darkness of Hell.
'Another question that needs an answer,' he thought to himself before trying to sense for the blonde Slayer once again.
But he couldn't sense her. But he could sense something very familiar, and a smile formed on his face. The man turned back towards the body of the girl he killed… he could still hear her heartbeat slowing down with every passing second.
'Wherever it is I am, I need a guide,' he thought to himself before walking towards the pale body of the young woman, 'for now, this one with do nicely.'
It would be several seconds later that the man walked down into the alleyway before turning into a corner which would lead him to the main street where crowds of people were walking past the alleyway while cars drove past.
Several meters before he could exit the alley, he stopped and then looked around once again. He searched and found a manhole cover a few inches away. He wanted to be in the dark while he planned his next move and waited for the vampire he just sired to wake up. All he knew was that, this time, there was no magical force field keeping him away from the rest of the world. This time, he could go out to the world and make it his own. The man, still pale while his reddish eyes looked out at the people in the distance, continued to hunger. He looked back at the now dead body and smirked before licking the blood off his fingers. He then walked towards the manhole cover. A few seconds later, he reached down and then removed it before jumping down into the sewers so that he could reconnoitre his new home.
While he scouted this unknown city, the man was going to sate his hunger before turning more to his cause. He need more of his kind if only to fight any Slayers that may exist in the city.
And once he had his army, he was going to open the Hellmouth – one which he felt was just nascent as if it was recently formed - which was throbbing with dark energy under the city. The familiar mystical energy was just brushing against his skin.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," The man spun around, growling at the familiar voice of the young woman who succeeded in killing him. He started to take two steps forward towards the smirking woman when he suddenly stopped and narrowed his eyes burning with hate. The woman was nonplussed as she continued, "well, living is a metaphor… you were gone from this plane of existence and now you've returned. I brought you back, Master… or would you rather be called by your human name… Heinrich?"
The figure of the Slayer with blonde hair transformed in front of his eyes to a copy of himself. He took a few steps back in awe, tinged with a healthy doze of fear, when he realized who… or what… he was talking to. After all, the only people who knew his human name were already dead and buried, their bodies eaten away by worms. And in all dark history, myth, legends… whatever it may be… the Master knew there was only one being who could know his real name anymore, "the First… you are the First…"
His copy bore his fangs and howled in laughter for a few seconds before quietening down. The First changed to the form of the blonde Slayer, the form that still angered the Master. He straightened his back and snarled before tilting his head and taking a cautious step forward and asking, "you brought me back?"
"I did."
"Legend has it that the First could not interact with the world," the Master countered.
"Many things have happened since you were turned to dust," the First smirked as it thought about Buffy's first death and then of Barry's appearance in this new place – the latter act leaving the First free to act. She told the Master that there would be explanations at a later time, "all you need to know is that this dimension…"
"This dimension?" the Master asked curiously, "you are implying this is a new dimensional reality?"
"All in good time," the First said waving its hand at the Master before speaking with its arms crossed over its chest, "you feel it, don't you? The Dark energy from a Hellmouth?"
"I do," he replied as a cold breeze brushed past, "If this is another dimension as you say, then how can there be a Hellmouth here… and how can it be so young?"
The First shrugged as it began walking around the Master, the First's eyes remained on the ancient monster as it spoke, "an accident three years ago released a burst of what the humans call dark matter. It pierced the veils between the different Hell dimensions in this world and the convergence of those energies created a new Hellmouth."
The Master stared at the First, his eyes locked onto the form it took of the woman he hated before it changed form to that of Angelus - another being who the Master wanted to kill.
"Remember when I terrorized Europe," Angelus growled, "oh wait, you weren't there." Angelus chuckled much to the Master's chagrin, "you were in your sewer. And then, after years upon years of scheming and planning, the next thing you know, you were locked away beneath Sunnydale."
The Master rolled his hands into fists in anger at the thought of Angelus, Darla, Spike, and Dru terrorizing Europe while he and his minions were hidden way in the darkness. No, he would have his vengeance on Angelus at another time when he returned to their original dimension. And then as if the First knew what the Master was thinking, it sneered, "you wanted to hide away with your Order, but I made a name for myself." Angelus then stopped talking and tilted his head before saying, "and now you can make a new name for yourself. This is a very unique world… a world with unique possibilities and people." Angelus then looked away from the snarl on the Master's face and towards the dead pink haired girl, "she will tell you all about what you can expect when she wakes up."
It was when the First changed to its original form of a horned demon that the Master stepped back in awe with eyes wide open in shock, "there will be chaos very soon, my child. And then… then we will return to the dimension when you were humiliated by the Slayer." The spectral form of the First Evil then vanished leaving behind the Master who was staring at the space where the First once stood. 'Unique people…' he thought to himself before turning towards the dead body, 'I will have to wait for this one to awaken. In the meantime, I still hunger.' the Master turned away from the body and started walking towards a manhole cover that was nearby.
He knew that there was a lot he needed to think about, 'and I can think about it while I feed.' He slipped away into the sewers while the body lay cold and still in the alley.
At least for now.
Central City, 2100 hours.
Joe stared at the body of a brunette middle-aged female in one of the three parks in Central City with a quizzical look on his face. He was crouched down next to the new CSI who took over Barry's position as CSI Tech at the Central City Police Department, Julian Albert. After all, as far as the Central City Police Department knew, Barry Allen was on an 'extended vacation'. Sighing as he wondered about the still missing Barry and where he could be, Joe was still able to listen to Julian as he described the state of the body lying on the wet and grassy ground.
"It's just like the ten others we have in the morgue," Julian said after pointing out the two marks on the side of the dead woman's neck, "I'll have to take her back and conduct an autopsy, but from a visual inspection of the body, I would say her blood was drained out." He then crouched down and lifted the sheet covering the body; and Joe set his eyes on the dark haired, and deathly pale, young woman. Joe then covered the body once again before asking if he thought the body was really like the other ten they discovered all over Central City throughout that very day.
Julian shrugged his shoulders while Joe remembered the call he received after the first body was found at eight in the morning. He was directed to a secluded area of the North Central City Park where there were two dead bodies found by joggers. Both were pale since – after the autopsy was conducted – it was discovered their bodies had no blood in them. And that was even though the bodies had blood stains on their lips.
"From first glance," said Julian as he looked at Joe who stood up slowly, "I'd say that she died anywhere between fourteen to sixteen hours ago."
"What the hell is going on here?" asked Joe as he stared at the covered body of the pink haired girl which lay in an alley while the couple who found the body after entering the alley for a romantic rendezvous had left after giving their statements.
Joe could say he had seen a lot of strange things after Barry became the Flash, but this was something else. It was a disturbing sight to see another body so pale and made him wonder if there was some kind of an occult connection to this case. Shaking his head while pushing aside what he knew were ridiculous thoughts of vampires running around in the city, the man took refuge in the belief that there were murderers killing people to drain their blood for some sick ritual.
"Let's get the body back to the CCPD," said Joe as he rubbed the back of his head. He nodded at Julian before the CSI stood back up. He took one last looked at the body and then began walking out of the alleyway. Once he was out on the main street, Joe looked around at both ends of the street which were crowded with people behind police barriers. They had seen the police cars parked near the alley, and were curious as to what was going on.
Joe was scanning the people around him – many taking video and pictures on their phones – just before there was a gust of wind to his left. Turning his head as cameras flashed from the direction of the onlookers followed by wild cheers from a few of them - Joe turned to look at Kid-Flash in his yellow uniform.
"What's going on, Detective?" asked Kid Flash waved his hand while vibrating his voice, "Another body?"
"Yea," Joe said while recalling what he had told his son, Thea, Laurel, Caitlin, Cisco, and Dr. McGee about the 'unique' nature of the bodies after the seventh one was found four hours ago. He and Thea, the de-facto leader of the STAR Labs team, then discussed ways to step-up their patrols with Laurel and Wally. Joe then talked to Iris - as her 'source' inside the CCPD - about what he knew about the case regarding the drained bodies. Later, it would be in the evening edition of the Central City Picture News that reports of the gruesome murders would be first reported by Iris.
While Joe headed back to the police station, both Thea and Laurel were in their uniforms as they rode through the city on their motorcycles. In the meantime, Wally relayed Joe's thoughts through the earpiece communicators connecting them all and left Joe's side. He ran through the whole city; all three searching for anything strange. In the meantime, Cisco and Caitlin were monitoring the emergency services for any calls on strange sightings or more dead bodies.
Central Picture News, 2200 hours.
Iris knew that Cisco was doing everything he could to bring Barry back home; in fact, he had modified his goggles so that he could push his powers over their limit so that he could see further into the multiverse. She knew that he was pushing harder for her… she was feeling depressed at losing Barry, and she was trying her best to hide it from everyone. But Cisco saw through her deception and promised to find a way to get Barry back to them.
It was the thought of missing Barry's laugh, his smile, his mere presence in her life that occupied Iris' thoughts as she walked down the street after having left the CCPN offices. As she walked on the pavement, Iris started to have this strange feeling of being watched. She stopped walking and looked around at her surroundings. She scanned the immediate area of people passing by with her eyes while cars were being driven on either side of the street. Iris then sighed before telling herself she was being a little paranoid after having written about the bodies drained off blood that were discovered earlier that day.
Shuddering a little as she tightened her coat around her body, Iris continued walking toward her car which was parked a few meters away from the CCPN offices. Nearing the vehicle, Iris opened her handbag and took out her car keys before closing it shut again. As she passed a dimly lit alley between an Italian restaurant and a three storey office building, Iris could have sworn she heard a soft and gently voice whispering "Iris" from the alley. She stopped walking as a chill moved up and down her spine.
"Iris."
'No,' Iris thought to herself, 'it couldn't be… we buried her… we were there… all of us."
"Iris. My baby."
Iris turned her head towards the alley as people walked past her. She stared into the alley while her hand sneaked into her handbag once again. She felt the edges of her phone while her eyes started to make out the outline of a figure in the alley. The figure stood just outside the edge of the circle of soft amber light next to the dumpster which was placed a step away from the backdoor to the restaurant. Iris narrowed her eyes as she walked around some of the people walking past her while the cold gentle breeze carried the voice of her dead mother to her ears.
"Iris, my baby. It's me."
Iris was getting closer towards the edge of the alley, but the voice still flowed into her ears as if Francine was right next to her whispering. Iris stopped at the edge of the alley and kept her eyes fixed on the figure covered in darkness. From the corner of her eyes, Iris could see there were not as many people walking past her as earlier before refocusing her eyes on the figure.
'No, it can't be.'
She watched as the figure took a step into the light and her eyes went wide in shock. It was Francine West standing several feet from her. Iris felt her heart racing at the thought that her mother was standing feet from her while another part of her was telling her to run… to call for Wally; that there was something wrong. She even released the hold on her phone, which fell back into her bag, as she stood transfixed at Francine taking another step towards her with a smile on her face.
It was the smile. Iris stared at that smile and it made her uneasy. Iris knew about metahumans who could shape-shift into other people and this could be very well be one of them. It was that thought which brought Iris out of her own thoughts. She grabbed the phone in her handbag and then took it out.
"Iris, my baby girl," the figure Iris believed was a shapeshifting metahuman walked towards her and continued, "don't be scared." Iris saw the figure's eyes sharply focused onto her as the latter got closer and closer, "you'll be soon with me. And Wally will be joining us soon too."
"I…"
It was just before she could say anything, Iris felt hands from behind gripping her arms. She winched at the pain as fingers tightened around her upper arms. She looked over her shoulder, but the person holding onto her had a hood over the head, but she swore she could see yellow eyes looking back at her. Iris turned her head back towards the supposed shapeshifter who took on her mother's form and was surprised when she started fading away.
"She's all yours… and once you are done, she will bring us Wally."
Before Iris could say anything, Francine vanished. She then looked over her shoulder and stamped onto the foot of her attacker. But her captor made no move or sound. Iris looked down at her phone and then turned on the screen. She was about to unlock the device when she felt her body leaping through the air. Before she could scream, she and her capture landed behind the dumpster where she was released from his grip. But before she could unlock her phone and run past the hooded figure, a hand thrust out against her chest and then pushing her against the wall. Iris then screamed in pain when another hand grabbed the left side of her head and forced it to the left.
Iris screamed again. She was covered in the darkness behind the dumpster as her eyes looked down at the phone in her hand. She struggled to swipe the screen while she gasped out in pain from the figure pressing the side of her head against the wall. Her eyes were straining as she yelled in pain while struggling to stare at the screen where her thumb was trying to swipe the pin to unlock her phone.
It was then, just as the screen successfully unlocked, that Iris gasped when cold lips pressed against her neck. The hand on her chest pressed down hard while her free hand was behind the figure's hood covered head frantically trying to grasp the hood from behind and pull it away. Her fingers grasped the hood, but she didn't feel any hair under it just as the thumb on her right hand pressed down on the emergency app which would alert STAR Labs.
"AAAAHHHHH!" she cried out in pain as twin sharp teeth pierced her skin and entered her major artery. Iris felt her body weaken while hearing sickening slurping noises. Iris then felt the fingers of her hand grasping the phone open; she heard the device falling onto the ground while the hand that had pulled back the hood lay limp next to her. She opened her mouth to scream again as the figure who – as unbelievable as it seemed – was drinking her blood bit down harder. The slurping sounds were getting louder as Iris felt her body getting colder and colder.
WHOOOOOSH!
Iris felt her eyes closing just as the sudden gust of wind hit her. She felt herself falling after the figure biting into her neck was pulled away from her. Her thoughts were that it was Barry who saved her. Barry had come back for her.
And then there was a growl. An animalistic growl that entered her ears as she started to close her eyes.
"What the hell are you?" That voice… it was a familiar voice full of shock. As Iris closed her eyes and slipped into unconsciousness, she realized that voice belonged to Wally. She heard cackling laughter just before Wally yelled out "HEY!" The sickening laughter was gone now as darkness claimed her just before she heard Wally yell out "IRIS!"
TBC