Okay! Welcome to my second chapter of my story. By the I changed the title to Blacklight because it sounds better to me than the Phantom. Furthermore, I think we can all agree that Cisco would never name any one ""The Phantom". Blacklight feels more like his style.
Now I have to address some comments.
To GamerX568: I decided to have Naruto keep his memories from the beginning because it allows for him to appreciate his new life better. Furthermore if he has these memories from the beginning rather than suddenly getting them, he won't have as hard a time adjusting and keeping his memories of a past life separate from the memories of a new life.
To Ridio the devil: You will be finding out about his powers in thsi chapter.
To Thunderbird29: I don't think I will be changing the way Naruto's new name is spelt because it fits his personality. It's unique and unpredictable just like him. The pronunciation is the same so I don't see why it would be difficult to read or say. If you disagree, then that is your opinion.
To Dracomancer1: Message me and let me know what you mean and some ideas on what I could do.
Now onto the story!
~~~~~~~~~Start~~~~~~~~~
My family comes first. Maybe that's what makes me different from other guys.
~ Bobby Darin
Barry was late. Now while this may have seemed like a happenstance occurrence, for him it was almost always. He knew that he should buy a car, but he couldn't afford one and he wasn't going to take money from Joe. He'd already done so much for him.
Once again, Barry briefly considered his brother before scowling. He'd sworn to himself that he'd never ask his brother Nathen for help ever again. Not after what his brother had done to their family.
Shaking those thoughts from his mind, Barry apologized to a passerby he'd run into. Continuing on through the busy streets of Central City, Barry ran towards the active crime scene he was needed at.
~O~O~O~O~At Said Active Crime Scene~O~O~O~O~
"Second robbery this week," Detective Fred Chyre remarked, walking out of the recently robbed bank.
"The teller I. Clyde Mardon as the shooter." Detective Joe West replied to his partner.
"What?! Oh jeez, the Mardon Brothers are back?" Chyre complained, exasperated.
"What do we got?" Captain David Singh of CCPD asked, stalking up to the two detectives.
Handing his superior officer two photographs of the culprits, Joe responded.
"Perps took the bank, shot out the cameras, and as a chaser, killed the security guard over there. I got units kickin' in doors of known Mardon Brothers associates."
Nodding, Singh looked around at the crime scene.
"CSI been over it?" Singh asked, still looking at the crime scene.
Joe froze before looking up at his captain.
"Uh, no..."
"Where's Allen?" the captain sighed.
~O~O~O~O~Back with Barry~O~O~O~O~
Barry huffed as exhaustion was beginning to set in.
"I'm sorry!" he called out, as he ran into another pedestrian.
Grabbing hold of his CSI kit, Barry dashed onto the crime scene, approaching his surrogate father, Chyre, and the captain.
As he came to a stop, he vaguely heard Singh talking to Joe about his tardiness slowing down the investigation.
"Sorry I'm late, Captain Singh." Barry said.
"What was it this time, Mr. Allen?" Singh asked, looking at Barry. "Did you forget to set your alarm clock? Before you answer," Singh interrupted Barry, who was about to reply while shaking his head, "I should remind you the excuse you gave last time was car trouble."
Barry nodded his head in embarrassment.
"Want to know why that was particularly memorable?" Singh asked.
"I do not own a car." Barry remarked, nervously.
"He was running an errand for me." Joe said before turning to his son, "Barry, did you get me what I asked for?" Joe finished, giving the young CSI a look.
Yeah, yeah, I have it right here," Barry nodded, attempting to play along by ruffling through his pockets to give something, anything to his father figure.
Unfortunately, all he could find was a half-eaten chocolate bar. Awkwardly, under the disbelieving eyes of the police captain and Detective Chyre and the incredulous stare of his parental figure, Barry handed Joe the bar of chocolate.
"I had a few bites of it...so..." Barry trailed off awkwardly.
Seeing the look Jo was sending him, Barry walked over to the crime scene. Snapping his gloves on, Barry knelt down on the road, in front of a tire track. Analyzing it briefly, Barry spoke towards the 3 officers.
"Getaway car was a Mustang Shelby GT500. Shelby's have a rear super wide tire, specific to that model. 12 inches with an asymmetrical tread"
Joe smirked in astonishment, writing down the information in his notepad.
"There's something else," Barry noted before standing and taking Chyre's pen from his coat pocket not giving the detective time to say anything, "thanks."
Scraping a piece of the substance off the ground, Barry brought it up to his nose and whiffed it. His face contorted in disgust before placing it in an evidence bag.
"Fecal excrement, animal I'd guess."
"My dad gave me that pen, before he died." Chyre frowned.
"Sorry," Barry apologized awkwardly.
~X~O~X~O~Timeskip: A couple minutes later - CCPD CSI lab~O~X~O~X~
Barry turned on the analyzing machine before walking towards his department desktop. Turning it on, Barry brought up images of the Mardon Brother, one a brunette and the other dirty blond. As Barry was filling out some reports, he raised his head to see Iris, his kinda-sister and crush, approaching him
"Okay, I am ready to see this atom smasher, smashing?" Iris corrected, unsure.
"There was a shooting today," Barry started, walking over to his crime board to add on some notes, "Your dad needs me to process some evidence, which means I don't know if we're going to be able to make it to S.T.A.R Labs."
"But seeing this thing turn on is like your dream," Iris frowned, "your sad, little nerdy dream." Iris teased, taking one of his fries.
"In fact, I cancelled a date for this." Iris stated matter-of-factly.
"Hands off my fries, unbelievable." Barry remarked, seeing his crush eating his lunch.
"I'm stress eating over my dissertation, we started selling cronuts at Jitters, I ate two today. If I don't graduate soon, I'm gonna be more muffin top than woman." she jokingly complained.
"You look amazing." Barry complimented earnestly.
Iris scoffed and rolled her eyes, dismissing his compliment as him just saying so. Barry turned around, a slightly pained look on his face as his crush ignored his compliment, again.
"What is so important about this Particle Accelerator, anyway?" Iris wondered, approaching Barry.
"Harrison Wells' work in quantum theory is light years ahead of anything they're doing at CERN." Barry exclaimed.
"You're doing that thing where you're not speaking english." Iris remarked.
Turning his head to a clear board, Barry walked over and grabbed a marker.
"Okay, just...imagine that that dot, is everything the human race has ever learned until this moment," Barry explained.
"Does that include twerking?" Iris remarked, snidely.
Ignoring her joke, Barry drew a large circle around the dot, "That is everything we could learn from the Particle Accelerator. It's a whole new way of looking at physics. It will literally change the way we think about everything." Barry proclaimed, excitedly.
"You've got to get yourself a girlfriend." Iris said, grabbing her brother figure's shoulder.
"Hey, leave him alone he's working," Joe reprimanded his daughter.
"Hi Dad." Iris smiled.
Hearing a beep, Iris turned to the computer.
"Your test thingy is done." She noted.
Stalking over to the computer, Barry sat in the chair and analyzed the data before turning to Joe.
"I think the Mardon brothers are hiding on a farm. The fecal matter I found on the street, it was cow manure, which contained traces of oxytetracycline. It's an antibiotic. There are only four farms in the area that still use it in their feed."
Printing out the locations, Barry turned to his superior, "Bet you'll find a really sweet Shelby parked at one of them."
"Dad, seeing as how Barry solved your poop problem, how 'bout letting him go to S.T.A.R. Labs?" Iris pleaded, wrapping her arm around Joe.
Looking at Barry critically, Joe finally relented after a few seconds.
"Fine, go."
Grinning, Barry grabbed his jacket and practically ran out the room.
"Thank you, Joe." Barry called back.
Barry smiled at Iris, unaware that she'd invited his elder brother to join them.
~O~O~O~O~With Nathen~O~O~O~O~
14 years. It had been 14 long years since that horrible night. It was the night that everything changed for both Nathen and Barry. That night, they lost both their parents. Their mother, Nora died at the hands of the man in yellow, while their father, Henry lost his freedom, wrongfully convicted for their mother's murder.
The day of the trial, that was when Nathen knew that both his brother and himself were all they had left of each other. The day of the trial, Nathen was a key witness in his father's trial. Nathen knew that he couldn't just claim that a man with powers broke into his house and killed their father, so he came up with a simple, believable story.
~X~X~X~X~Flashback: 14 years ago~X~X~X~X~
"Mr. Allen," his father's defender called, "can you tell me what happened on the night of March 18, 2000?"
"I woke up in the middle of the night, hearing a loud crash. I went to check on my brother, when I heard screaming downstairs. I made my way to the downstairs living room. I noticed my father on the floor unconscious, the door was broken in, and my mother was on the floor begging for her life. Standing over her was a man, wearing a mask and gloves." Nathen spoke.
"And where was your brother, Bartholomew Allen, at this point?" the public defender asked.
"It turns out that before the man had knocked my father out, he told Barry to run, to get help. By the time I got down there, Barry was gone. The man hadn't noticed me yet so I caught him by surprise."
"I'm sorry, what do you mean you caught him by surprise. Your 16, what could you have done?" the prosecutor asked.
The defense attorney got ready to rebuttal, but Nathen responded first.
"I'm a 1st degree black belt in multiple forms of martial arts, I learned how to switch between forms. It doesn't matter how strong or skilled the man was, he wasn't prepared. I broke his left arm before he broke my left leg and right arm. I was barely conscious and I had to watch as he stabbed my mother in the heart." Nathen gritted out.
"Can you tell me why your father's prints we're all over the murder weapon?" the defense asked.
"My father woke up minutes later, after she'd already died. He went into denial and tried to stabilize the wound. All the cops saw was my dad holding a bloody knife with his hands on my mother's dead body. I suppose seeing me with a broken leg and arm, didn't help." Nathen shrugged.
"They arrested my dad, and my little brother walked in. My father was not in any way responsible for my mother's death. He is an innocent man who lost the love of his life." Nathen declared strongly.
"Thank you, the defense rests."
~X~X~X~X~Back to the Present~X~X~X~X~
After that, Nathen had front row seats to the rest of his family losing faith in his father. Slowly believing his father to be the demonized monster the prosecution made him out to be. His own words were twisted and turned against him, made to diabolize his father. To turn him into a monster capable of the crimes he was accused of.
Nathen and his brother, were all that were left of their family. But, the day Joe West took them in, Nathen knew things would get better. A few months later, Nathen left for MIT, starting out as a sophomore. He took 2 years to graduate, gaining PhDs in applied physics, applied mathematics, electrical, chemical, biochemical, mechanical, and biological engineering.
After leaving MIT, Nathen joined Mercury Labs where he spent 5 years working alongside some of the most brilliant scientists. He had helped in many of Christina McGee's projects before he decided to move on. He had created his own company, the Central Oversight & Research Examination Laboratories or C.O.R.E. Labs as it came to be known.
It took 7 years for it to reach the same height of fame as S.T.A.R. Labs and Mercury Labs. His company had become infamous for revolutionizing the medical field and for creating the world's first ever sustainable clean energy. A project he called CORE's Arc. Using this technology, Nathen had made the use of power plants and fossil fuels near useless.
Now 14 years later, Nathen was a multi-billionaire with labs setup all across the country. Nathen was in the middle of a new project, one involving the use of photons. Nathen was looking into hard light technology, something that would be used to enhance security and medical purposes.
Nathen was in the middle of using nanites to handle the fine touch of his projects, when his phone rang. Setting the touchpad controlling the nanites down, Nathen checked his phone, seeing Iris. Nathen answered the phone seconds later.
"Hey lil' sis, how are you?" Nathen smiled.
"Hey Nathen, I was wondering if you could do me a favor and come to the S.T.A.R. Labs Particle Accelerator Launch, with me and Barry." Iris asked nervously.
"Iris, you know how Barry feels about me. I don't want to cause any problems." Nathen sighed.
"You guys are brothers. He shouldn't even be mad at you, you've done nothing wrong. Besides, do it for me." Iris pleaded.
"Alright, fine." Nathen groaned in exasperation.
Nathen locked down the room before leaving. On his way out, he greeted multiple workers and colleagues.
"Leaving early, Mr. Allen?" one of his employees asked.
"Yeah, helping a friend out, don't stay too late, Danton." Nathen called out walking out the door.
Nathen had found Danton Black, when he had been working at Stagg Industries. Hearing about his dilemma with his wife, Nathen took her in and treated her long enough for her to get the transplant she needed. Black had soon decided to work for C.O.R.E Labs soon afterward.
Hopping into his car, something he designed himself, Nathen made his way to S.T.A.R. Labs, where he'd meet up with Iris and Barry.
Thinking about Barry made Nathen frown. Barry, during Nathen's time away, had gotten it into his head that Nathen had played a part in their father's conviction. He blamed him saying that he hadn't done a enough to defend their father, that he hadn't tried as hard as he could to convince the jury. Since then, their relationship had grown strained. Nothing he did or said could convince his younger brother he was wrong and because he was so busy with work, he could never spend more than 1 or 2 hours with his brother.
Nathen knew he should have made time, but deep down he did blame himself a little. While he knew what happened that night was impossible, he still believed taht he could have convinced them if he had tried harder. It didn't help ease his conscience that he had essentially abandoned his brother after the trial, leaving for two years. And when he did comeback, he never had much time for him, so he couldn't do anything to prove to Barry that he still cared for him. But even with their tense relationship, Nathen still cared, he always would.
"I made you a promise to take care of Barry, Mom. I won't break it, even if he hates me forever." Nathen thought, reaffirming his oath.
Upon arriving, Nathen stepped out of his car, still wearing the black denim jeans, white button up shirt and navy blue vest he had worn to work. Shutting the driver side door, Nathen stepped onto the sidewalk, scanning the crowd for his two companions. Upon seeing them, Nathen strode towards them with confident, graceful stride.
"Well, I'm here as promised. " Nathen directed at Iris, ignoring the scathing look his little brother sent his way.
"What are you doing here, Nate." Barry spitted venom.
"Well little brother, Iris asked me to come. Just 'cause you don't like me, doesn't mean that I'm not a part of the family." Nathen shrugged carelessly.
"So Barry, how was your trip? Did you find proof of the impossible in Starling City, or did you just make my Dad mad for no reason?" Iris asked, distracting Barry. Iris grabbed onto their arms and dragged them over to the podium, where Harrison Wells, founder of S.T.A.R. Labs was preparing to give his speech.
Looking around, Nathen noticed Martin Stein and Clifford DeVoe, giving both nods of greeting. Back when he was first starting his own company, he had a run in with both men and found that they were very knowledgeable in their respective fields.
Chuckling, Barry turned to his crush, ignoring his brother, "Actually, while I was away, I had time to think about, you know relationships."
Suddenly interested in the conversation, Nathen turned to his brother.
"Is he finally going to tell her about his crush?"
"I'm not in one and...you're not in one either…and you're my best friend, Iris." Barry started.
"You're mine too, why else would I be here?" Iris interrupted, letting go of Nathen and turning to Barry.
"Yeah, that's not what I meant, what I meant..." Barry tried to say, before Iris interrupted him once more.
"I know what you're gonna say, Barry." Iris said.
"I'm not sure you do."
"Even though we pretty much grew up in the same house together and we're kind of like brother and sister, because we're not brother and sister, it can get really weird and awkward to talk to me about girls, but I just want you to know that it shouldn't be awkward. There is nothing more that I want for you than to meet the right person that loves and adores you for the amazing guy that you are." Iris smiled.
Barry nodded his head, his face somewhere between a smile and a grimace, "Took the words right out of my mouth."
Nathen internally groaned and facepalmed, looking at his brother pityingly.
"Aw, aren't you glad I knew you so well?" Iris bumped shoulders with Barry.
Shaking his head in disappointment, Nathen turned his attention to Harrison Wells who'd started speaking, nearly missing the pickpocket who stole Iris' laptop.
"Hey my laptop! It's got my dissertation in it!" Iris cried out.
Nathen and Barry both ran after the thief, ignoring his attempts to shake them off. Nathen was slightly behind Barry when he watched him get taken out. Running past him, Nathen tripped the boy, flinging on his back before taking the bag back. Looking down at the young man, Nathen noticed the desperate and scared look in his eyes and cursed. Taking out his wallet, Nathen pulled out a few hundred dollars and tossed it at the boy.
"Go," was all Nathen said before the boy ran off.
Hearing a gun cock behind him, Nathen turned to see a blond man with blue eyes pointing a gun at him.
"Drop the bag! Or do you want to find out if you're faster than a bullet?" the officer said, smirking,
Nathen sweatdropped at the man's obvious attempt at being cool.
Ignoring the police officer, Nathen walked up to Iris, who was helping Barry up, and handed her the bag.
"Next time, hang the bag over your other shoulder. Harder to steal." Nathen lectured, before turning to Barry.
"What happened to you? I've taught you to handle something like that easily. You've been training right?" Nathen asked.
"Oh, what do you care? Besides, why should I do anything you tell me to, traitor." Barry hissed out scathingly.
"Right, well maybe if you had listened to this 'traitor' you wouldn't have been knocked on your ass by a kid almost a decade younger than you." Nathen retorted before turning away.
Facing the detective, Nathen stretched his hand out.
"Hi, I'm Nathen, the angsty one behind me is Barry, and the girl next to him is Iris."
"I'm Eddie, Eddie Thawne. Sorry about pointing my gun at you, guess I misread the situation." the detective smiled sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it, you were just a little late to the show is all." Nathen shrugged his apology off.
Turning to Iris, he spoke, "Well seeing as the Particle Accelerator is already online, I'll just be going. See you at Joe's for dinner."
Walking back to his car, Nathen thought about what he had learned from Hartley Rathaway about the Particle Accelerator.
"What's your game Harrison? Why are you risking the entire city just to turn this on?"
Shrugging off the nagging feeling, Nathen made his way back to his company, intent on at least finishing a good portion of his newest project before dinner. He was a couple minutes into his project when he heard a loud boom. Looking out the window, Nathan saw a bright light shoot into the sky, followed by a large wave of energy spreading out from S.T.A.R. Labs.
~X~O~X~O~At the same time - With Barry~O~X~O~X~
Barry entered his lab and put his coat up, being careful to avoid the growing puddle that resulted from the skylight being open. Ignoring it for the time being, turned on his desktop to the news channel to see Linda Park talking about the weather and its lack of effect on the Particle Accelerator.
Barry turned to his crime board and pulled up the map of the city, revealing his Wall of Weird. Newspaper articles were pinned to the board, the one about his father's imprisonment and mother's death in the center.
Hearing alarms coming from the news report, Barry turned his head away from the board. Barry focused on the computer screen before it suddenly turned off. Before he could attempt to turn it one, he heard a loud explosion and saw a bright light from his window. Barry saw what looked like a beam of light shoot into the sky from S.T.A.R. Labs, before a wave of energy suddenly expanded from the building.
Realizing the skylight was still open, Barry paced to the chain that closes it. As he was about to pull on it, he noticed all of the liquids in the room start floating, the same way, he realized, they did the night of his mother's death. Looking up through the skylight, Barry saw lightning within the clouds.
Before he could react, lightning broke through the window pane and travelled through the chain before striking him. The electric current blew Barry off his feet into the storage shelves. Barry passed out as chemicals soaked into his body, unknowing of the lightning coursing through his body, slowly changing him.
~X~O~X~O~Back with Nathen~O~X~O~X~
Nathen stared in shock as the energy wave approached him. The last thing he saw was a lightning bolt, the same color as the energy wave striking CCPD, then he was hit by the wave, sending him flying into unconsciousness.
"Barry..." Nathen thought, as he lost consciousness, unaware of the photons merging with the cells in his body.
~X~O~X~O~Timeskip: 3 Months - Central City Hospital~O~X~O~X~
Joe and Iris sat beside Nathen's bed, haggard and weary. It had been 3 months since the night of the Particle Accelerator. 3 months since S.T.A.R. Labs "nuked" the city. 3 months since the Allen brothers were hospitalized. Barry had been struck by lightning, and since then had been seizing spontaneously and coincedentally, the hospital's electrical system would start to act up at the same time.
Nathen was in a similar situation had been blasted across the room of his lab and was later found by Danton Black, who'd been working late. Upon being taken to the hospital, doctor's were baffled because Nathen was completely fine. There were no issues neither inside or outside of his body, but he was completely unresponsive. The doctor's could do nothing to wake him from his coma since they didn't know why he was in one. All they could do was wait and hope for the best.
Joe and Iris had called CORE Labs numerous times, asking them to try and help Barry, but without Nathen there to take charge, the company refused. They saw no point in even attempting to help Barry. So, Barry was eventually moved to S.T.A.R. Labs at Joe's reluctant request, where he could be treated properly. Nathen stayed at the hospital, completely unresponsive. Joe and Iris wore themselves out worrying about the two. Joe's new partner Eddie, had begun to take Joe's shifts so that the Allen brothers' adoptive father could visit them.
It had been 3 months since they had fallen into a coma. Each day, Joe and Iris could feel their hope dying. Everyday they didn't wake up, a little part of Joe and Iris died. It caused them emotional agony to watch them lie there unmoving. Iris just couldn't handle the emotional pain any longer. She had to leave.
"I'm going for a coffee run, Dad. Do you want anything?" Iris croaked out.
"No, um...I-I'm okay honey, thanks." Joe responded.
Iris nodded slowly, before starting out the room. Suddenly, Nathen's eyes snapped open and he shot up. Neither Joe nor Iris could say anything, shocked as they watched Nathen's eyes glow a brilliant white light. As the glow faded, Nathen looked around to see Joe and Iris.
"W-what happened? All I remember is...a...wave of...energy? Where am I?" Nathen asked, looking around.
"You scared the hell out of us, Nate. You and Barry have been in a coma for 3 months." Joe said, grabbing his adoptive son in a hug.
"3 months? Wait, Barry is in a coma?" Nathen asked, as Iris came to hug him.
"Yeah, he hasn't woken up yet. We're still unsure why." Joe explained.
"Where is he?" Nate asked, attempting to stand.
"Whoa whoa whoa, Nate you need to lie still. You've been in a coma for 3 months. Barry's at S.T.A.R. Labs, it's the only place that could stabilize him." Iris explained.
"Stabilize? Why would S.T.A.R. Labs need to stabilize him?" Nathen asked.
"Nate, Barry was struck by lightning. He somehow survived, but he kept seizing and the doctors couldn't figure out why. S.T.A.R. Labs took him in and helped him." Iris explained.
"Alright well, let's get me out of here, then we can figure out how to help Barry." Nathen said.
~X~O~X~O~Timeskip: 6 Months - C.O.R.E. Labs~O~X~O~X~
It took him 3 days to get discharged. The doctors ran every test they could on him in such a short time, but they couldn't find anything wrong with him. Still, Nathen couldn't help the nagging feeling that there was something different. Being told that his eyes glowed when he woke up by Joe definitely raised some concerns.
So the first thing Nate did was head into C.O.R.E. Labs where the President of his company, Hartley Rathaway, greeted him. Hartley, after being fired by Harrison Wells, found his way to C.O.R.E. Labs, where he was hired on the spot and put into place as the company's President almost immediately. Until Hartley had come along, Nathan had not decided on one yet, not able to find someone up to his standards.
Working with Hartley, who had also changed as a result of the Particle Accelerator, helped Nathen find out what was wrong with him. They had found that Nathen's entire molecular structure was saturated with photons and numerous other x-elements. As a result, Hartley and Nathen both hypothesized that he could potentially manipulate photons.
Nathen had also been helping Hartley to control sound waves in order to better understand his damaged ears. For 6 months, Nathen had been practicing controlling his new abilities, all he'd been able to do up until that point was control darkness. Hartley had hypothesized that because darkness was the result of photons vibrating at a much lower frequency, it would be easier for him to control it than manipulating light.
Hartley and Nathen had come to the conclusion that Nathen had to first master manipulating darkness before he could begin to understand how to manipulate light. So for 6 months he had begun to slowly learn to resonate with the same frequency as shadows and then learn to manipulate and create it.
So far, he had learned to shape and solidify shadows. He had learned to create weapons, like bo staffs and bows. Nathen had also learned to vibrate at the same frequency as shadows. Becoming a shadow for the first time was insane.
~X~O~X~O~Flashback: 4 Months - C.O.R.E. Labs~O~X~O~X~
Nathen was looking at Hartley through the mirror. He was in a pair of black sweat pants and muscle shirt. He looked down at his watch, something he and Hartley had created to monitor his biological functions. It was capable of handling the vibrations of light and darkness.
"Okay Nate, this is the first time you're trying to vibrate at the same frequency as shadows. Don't expect it to work immediately. If you feel something wrong, stop. We should take our time figuring it out." Hartley said over the intercom.
Nodding, Nathen closed his eyes. Nathen had learned a long time ago, through his memories of the past, that meditating was a great way to unlock hidden talents. As Nathen sat there, letting his mind drift along, he felt something. It started out cold, and suddenly it was this warmth, like a blanket of darkness.
Unknown to him, Hartley watched as what looked like shadows began to flow out and around Nathen. Slowly, the shadow began to cover Nathen, making him look like a silhouette given life, like a shadow pretending to be real. And then, Nathen's eyes opened. Instead of seeing the vibrant blue he was accustomed to, Hartley saw black pupils and sclera and a pure, shining white pair of irises.
When Nathen opened his eyes, it was like a whole new world exploded into view. He could see everything, hear everything. He felt connected, to every shadow, every instance where darkness was there. He was the shadows. The new world slowly overwhelmed him, it was too much. And then it was gone.
"Nate! Hello! Nate!" Nathen suddenly focused on the voice and saw Hartley in front of him, waving his arms in his face.
"What? What is it?" Nathen asked, discombobulated.
"You were vanishing." Hartley stated.
"What?"
"When you turned into a shadow. You started to vanish, like you were melting into your own shadow. What happened?" Hartley asked, concerned.
"I don't know, it was like I was everywhere. I closed my eyes and I was suddenly everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Every instance that a shadow was present, I could see it, hear it." Nathen struggled to explain.
"Incredible, it's like you had what can be called shadow vision. You used low level photons to absorb information. But then why were you vanishing? What were you thinking about at the time?" Hartley asked.
"Nothing really, I was just letting my mind drift." Nathen shrugged.
"Interesting, without something to focus on, you ended up seeing everything." Hartley inferred.
"Okay, but that doesn't explain why I started to disappear...unless..." Nathen trailed off, eyes widening.
"You're connected. To the shadows. You're connected to them. You see what they see, you hear what they hear. It's possible that you can merge with them. A shadow form, so to speak." Hartley exclaimed.
"Amazing. Looks like I'm gonna have to train my abilities more." Nathen said, smiling.
"Then, let's get to it." Hartley smirked.
~X~X~X~X~Flashback End~X~X~X~X~
After his first attempt, Nathen had kept practicing his ability to merge with the surrounding shadows as well as maintaining his shadow form while remaining solid. In addition to learning to create and manipulate, Nathen had added some very interesting abilities to his defensive and offensive capabilities.
Using his pre-existing knowledge in martial arts, something he had kept training in as well as the additional weapons specialist. Nathen worked to solidify shadows into weapons varying from bows, blades, and polearms. For 6 long months, Nathen learned to multitask, to keep the form and shape of his shadows while training his fighting ability.
It reminded him of when he had first learned the Rasengan and when he had first created the Rasenshuriken. Nathen reminisced of the time Kakashi taught him to master his wind element. It took him time to master his shadow ability since he didn't have the muscle memory to speed the process up.
He often meditated in order to learn to control his abilities and to multitask and to control his emotions. Amazingly, even with his new abilities, Nathen had still found the time to keep up with his work. He kept up with his work, finishing and starting new projects. He even found the time to help other scientists finish their projects.
Since the Particle Accelerator explosion, C.O.R.E Lab and Mercury Labs had been competing for first place in the world's leading technological company. Numerous government contracts had piled up in his 3 month absent. Some involved creating dangerous weapons while others had the potential to make life safer.
He'd even had time to create a better alternative to weapons for law enforcement. He'd spent months creating a Dendrotoxin-based stun weapon that knocked targets out safely. They were safer and better than bullets and guns. With one shot, the target is out for six-whole hours.
It was one of the projects in a new line of weaponry for law enforcement. He hadn't come up with a name for them yet but he was partial to I.C.E.R. or Incapacitating Cartridge Emitting Railgun. Coupled with a specialized baton called I.O.N or Isolated Opposition Neutralizer, which sends small, nonlethal, electrical bursts into the targets, nervous system and heart, causing temporary paralysis or loss of consciousness. It was created to replace batons and tasers as both could cause potentially lethal damage.
This was just one of the many projects he had been able to complete. Currently, Nathen was working on a private project. He was creating a super suit, in latent terms, one that could adjust to his powers and could give him both protection and mobility. Up until this point he had decided to create a suit made from two metals he'd found in Egypt and in a small African country, Nathen had forged a metal fiber that he used to line the inner workings of the suit, making it stronger, lighter, and more flexible.
The first metal he decided to call Nth metal and the other called Vibranium. Vibranium seemed to absorb kinetic and vibrational energy making it extremely durable. Nth metal was still unknown apart from the fact it was strong, durable and light.
The suit was almost completely black with some white lining the suit, making the suit pop. The suit also had a mask that had a see-through visor, micro-cameras, and a breathing apparatus that could filter smoke and any form of gas. He'd designed the mask to be black and white like the suit. It imitated a japanese oni mask, but was faceless apart from the eye holes and the 6 inch horns that jutted out from the frontal eminence of the mask.
The suit was made up of a mesh sweater, a protective vest, a pair of black pants, knee high black boots with cross straps similar to those of the renaissance era, a pair of greaves, a pair of elbow length gauntlets, and two hand wraps. Nathen also planned to make a 10 ft. scarf that he would use to capture and stop his targets. The scarf would allow for him to dampen his targets powers in case they had powers.
Smiling at how his new suit looked, Nathen saved it in his own private servers. Suddenly his phone rang. Looking at his phone, Nathen saw that it was one Cisco Ramon, one of the three remaining scientists working at S.T.A.R. Labs. Nathen had met Cisco, Caitlin, and Harrison when he went to visit Barry.
~X~O~X~O~Flashback: 6 months - S.T.A.R. Labs~O~X~O~X~
Nathen looked around as he walked through the halls. The building schematics was amazing. As Nathen made his way into a room with a dashboard of computers. Looking slightly ahead, Nathen saw Barry lying in a bed with an IV drip. Walking towards his comatose brother, Nathen felt a burden settling on his shoulders.
Sitting down next to the bed, Nathen grabbed his brother's hand.
"Hey Bare, it's me, Nate. Sorry I haven't been around to visit you, you weren't the only one stuck in a coma." Nathen started, chuckling a little.
"Listen Barry, um...I know you don't like me, I know you don't consider me a brother. But I need you to wake up. You're the only thing I have left man. I promised Mom and Dad that I'd be here for you," Nathen said, unshed tears brimming, "If you die, if you don't wake up, that means that I failed. I can't fail, Barry. I did everything I could to protect you, to raise you. I stopped pursuing Mom's killer, I went to college, leaving you behind for 2 years. All so I could keep you safe and protected."
"I don't know if you can hear me, but I need you to wake up. I need to know that everything that I've done for you, wasn't for nothing. I know you hate me, but I promised our parents that I would be here for you even as an obstacle, because I love you little brother. I would be willing to do anything for you, even if it means I have to bear your hatred and your burdens. So please, wake up soon." Nathen cried silently.
Suddenly, Nathen heard footsteps. Quickly letting go and wiping his eyes, Nathen turned to the entrance of the room. Nathen saw two people, a small latino man and a pale brunette, the latino was waving his arm wildly. The two turned and stopped, seeing Nathen. Tensing up, both prepared themselves to call the police.
Since the Particle Accelerator explosion which had killed Ronnie, Caitlin's fiance and Cisco's bestfriend, both had had to call the police multiple times due to people constantly breaking in to deface STAR Labs or harrass their boss Dr. Harrison Wells, who'd lost his ability to walk in the explosion. They didn't pay much attention to who was infront of them, nor did they care much, they just wanted him out.
"Uh, who the hell are you? What are you doing here? How did you get here?" the latino said.
Nathen cleared his throat, trying to rid himself of the lump in his throat. "Uh, hi, I'm Nathen, Nathen Allen. I was just checking up on my brother here. The door was open, your security sucks by the way." Nathen chuckled wryly.
"Okay, rude. I'm Cisco Ramon, the one who built the security. This is Dr. Caitlin Snow, she's the one who's taking care of your brother." Cisco exclaimed, deadpan.
"Welcome, Nathen Allen, CEO of C.O.R.E. Labs." A voice called out.
Turning his head to the left, Nathen saw Harrison Wells, in a motorized wheelchair, making his way towards him. Narrowing his eyes briefly, Nathen decided to play along. Schooling his face, Nathen smiled.
"Harrison Wells, ex-world renowned scientist, creator of S.T.A.R. Labs and the Particle Accelerator." Nathen listed off, shaking Wells' hand.
Cisco and Caitlin frowned at what the deemed to be disrespect while Wells chuckled.
"Okay Sir Dick-a-lot, why don't you show some gratitude. If it wasn't for Wells, your brother would still be seizing in the hospital. Okay." Cisco said, slightly angry.
"If it wasn't for Wells, my brother wouldn't have been struck by the lightning bolt that put him in the hospital in the first place." Nathen retorted.
Seeing the frosty look Caitlin sent his way, Nathen turned to her.
"Do you have something to say to me Dr. Snow?"
"Just that I think you should leave. Now." Caitlin replied, coldly.
Nodding, Nathen walked away.
"I will be back every week to visit my brother." Nathen said, turning.
"Cisco right, let's exchange numbers. That way you can call me when he wakes up." Nathen said.
Cisco sighed and nodded. Giving his number reluctantly, Cisco glared at him.
"Look I get that you're worried about your brother, I can respect that. What I can't respect, is that you're blaming Dr. Wells for the accident. There was no way he could have predicted what was gonna happen. No one was at fault." Cisco said.
Nathen bit back a retort and nodded. Turning, Nathen walked away.
"You're a good kid Cisco. If you ever feel like looking for a new job, you're always welcome at C.O.R.E. Labs." Nathen smirked.
Cisco stared in shock at Nathen's back as he walked away. Smiling slightly, Cisco turned around to see Caitlin and Wells staring at him. Clearing his throat, Cisco made an excuse nervously before walking away.
"What a jerk, cute though." Caitlin thought.
Blushing slightly, Caitlin shook her head before turning to check S.T.A.R. Labs patient.
~X~X~X~X~Flashback End~X~X~X~X~
Shaking his head out of the memory, Nathen picked up his phone and answered.
"Yo Cisco, what's up. Is Barry okay?'
"Yeah, he's fine. He woke up!" Cisco answered, bringing a smile to Nathen's face.
"Where is he? Knowing him, he probably left as soon as possible." Nathen said as he grabbed his long coat.
"He went to find some girl, Iris I think?" Cisco said.
"Yeah okay, thank you Cisco." Nathen replied gratefully.
Nathen hurried his way to his car and sped off to CC Jitters, Iris' workplace. On his way, Nathen thought of what he would say. What he could say to save whatever was left of the bond he had with his brother. Thinking of nothing, Nathen decided to focus on his driving.
Pulling up to Jitters, Nathen began to bite his inner cheek, a habit he'd picked up when he was anxious. Shaking his head a little, Nathen gave himself a pep talk before walking into the building. The first thing he heard was the clattering and smashing sound of mugs falling.
Walking over, Nathen kneeled down by an employee, Tracy and started to help her pick the pieces up.
"Tracy? You okay?" Iris asked.
"No no, I'm okay. You don't have to help me either." Tracy responded, flustered.
"It's no problem." Nathen smiled.
Picking up the last piece, Nathen turned to Barry and Iris. Smiling slightly, Nathen waved at the two.
"Hey Bare, Iris. Glad you woke up Barry. I was really worried about you, little bro." Nathen said.
"I'm sure you were. I wonder where that concern was for our Dad when you broke his trust." sneered Barry.
Flinching at the venom in his brother's tone, Nathen stalked up to his brother with an emotionless face and stared at him. Being a good half-inch taller, Barry had to look up at him. Acting quickly, Nathen pulled his brother into a hug.
"Look, I get that you hate me. I get that you blame me for Dad's imprisonment. But for once can you just let me act like your brother." Nathen muttered.
Barry, not knowing what to do, nodded a little and hugged his brother back. Iris smiled a little, watching the two brother's reconnect just a little bit. Nathen let go of his brother and smiled at him. Nodding, Nathen spoke.
"So, why is it that I knew the first thing you'd do after waking up from a coma would be visiting Iris. Getting a little predictable little bro." Nathen smirked.
Blushing a little, Barry punched his brother's shoulder.
"Shut up Nate."
"You check up on Joe yet? You know his old heart can't take so much stress." Nathen smiled, a joking tone.
"No, no not yet. Why don't you give Barry a ride there, Nate." Iris encouraged, trying to solidify the small bond the two brothers had regained.
Nathen nodded, a little before grabbing his brother and pulling him out to his car. Both of the brothers entered the car and drove out of the parking lot. On their way to CCPD, Barry and Nathen would glance at each other awkwardly. Sighing Barry reached for the radio.
"Let's put on some music." Barry said.
"Yeah no, don't even try that. Knowing how awkward the situation already is, the universe is gonna screw us over and make every song for the rest of the drive even more awkward." Nathen said, smacking his brothers hand away from the radio.
Barry couldn't help but nod in agreement, knowing how true it was. Sighing, Barry put his hand through his hair.
"I don't hate you, Nate, not anymore. I just...I felt like you abandoned me. I mean our Mom had just died, our Dad was going to prison for her murder, and you just left for college. I mean it was like you were trying to forget about us. I get that it wasn't your fault that Dad was wrongfully convicted, I should have never put that on you, but it hurt me that you left so soon after everything happened. I mean you were 16, you could've waited a year before going." Barry explained.
"I promised Dad." Nathen replied suddenly.
"What?" Barry asked.
"When I went to visit him after he got arrested, he made me promise that I wouldn't wait to go to college. He made me swear that as soon as the trial ended that I would go to MIT." Nathen exclaimed.
"Why? Why would he do that?" Barry asked.
"For you. I wanted to stay, I wanted to wait two years before going to MIT, but he told me that I needed to go now. He made me swear that I would graduate college before coming back, so I could watch out for you finacially and familially. He wanted me to get a good paying job that I could use to take care of you financially, so he made me promise to go." Nathen explained.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Barry asked.
"You were 11 Barry. Your Mom had just died and your Dad had been accused of murder. If you'd found out what Dad had asked of me, you may have ended up blaming him. I would rather you hate me than him. I made a promise to Mom to take care of you, it's why I had Dad promise never to tell you of why I did what I did." Nathen explained, eyes shifting between the road and his brother.
"Why would you do all this for me? Why let me hate you?" Barry asked.
"Like I said, I made a promise to Mom and Dad. But I also made a promise to you and myself when you were born. I swore that I would protect you, that I would be here for you whether it was as an obstacle or as a support," Nathen smiled at him, "It was my job as your older brother to bear all of the heavy burdens."
Barry stared at his brother in shock, amazed that his brother was willing to go so far for him.
"Well, we're here. Let's go ease Dear Old Joe's heart." Nathen jokes, smiling wryly.
Smiling, Barry got out of the car. As they both made their way onto the elevator, Barry turned to Nathen.
"I don't want to hate you anymore, Nate." Barry said.
"I don't want you to hate me either." Nathen smiled.
Smiling at each other, the two brothers made their way out of the elevator and towards Joe's desk. Hear footsteps and the elevator, Joe turned around. Seeing Barry awake, his eyes widened in shock before he suddenly approached his surrogate son and hugged him.
"You scared the hell out of us, kid." Joe said.
Barry and Nate smiled, as Barry hugged his father figure back. Letting go, Barry heard a voice.
"That was quite the nap there you took, baby face, and you still look 12." a cop jokes.
Chuckling, Barry turned back to Joe who had a concerned look on his face.
"You look okay, are you really?"
"Yeah." Barry nodded.
Nathen stood next to his brother, as Joe was called away.
"Let's go partner." Joe called out.
Turning their heads, Nathen and Barry saw Eddie following Joe.
As he passed them, he greeted them before turning to Iris.
"Hey Iris." Eddie smiled.
"Detective, you should go, my dad doesn't like to be kept waiting." Iris said coldly.
Sighing, Nathen knew that Barry would be upset once he found out that Iris and Eddie were seeing each other.
Eddie's smile lessened, before he wished Barry well and left. Barry turned and looked after him before seeing a memorial.
Iris quickly explained that Chyre had been killed by Clyde Mardon the night of the Particle Accelerator explosion before she was called away by a cop.
"Hey Barry, good to see you," an officer called out as he helped to record a new detainee.
Barry smiled at him before both he and Nathen saw the detainee's hand reach for another officer's gun. Before Nathen could say anything, he saw a blur slam into the detainee. Tracking the blur's movements, Nathen was shocked to see it stop by his side, becoming his brother.
Barry looked at his brother, just as shocked. Before he could say anything, Nathen grabbed his brother and dragged him out into the car.
"What the hell is happening to me?" Barry asked, beginning to hyperventilate.
"I don't know, but you're not the only one with abilities. Since I woke up, I've encountered three other people with abilities like you." Nathen said.
"Something happened the night of the Particle Accelerator explosion, I think it's about time you and I got some answers from Dr. Wells." Nathen said, driving off to S.T.A.R. Labs.
Neither knew what to expect. Little did they know that they were in for a surprise.
~~~~~~~~~Finished~~~~~~~~~
Okay, so now that this chapter has ended, I'd like to mention somethings.
First, after Chaoter 3, each chapter will be equivalent to one episode of the show. Chapter 1, 2, and 3 will be the equivalent of the pilot for The Flash.
Second, I may decide to add elements from Marvel from time to time but it will mainly be from the DC Universe.
Finally, I'll try to update on a weekly basis, I apologize in advance if it takes a little bit longer, I may have writer's block or something.
Leave any comments or criticisms you have for me. I want to get better at this so I'd appreciate some help from my audience.
Soar High,
Crimson Lotus Demon