The Cloudless Sky II

 

If Harrison broke out the brandy, it was really his business and Barry didn’t say anything about it. He did silently pour her a glass, and she quietly accepted it though.

 

“Sometimes I remember her,” he said, letting her assume he was talking about Tess Morgan when he was really talking about her…in several other timelines. “I can see her dying in front of me all the time.”

 

Barry glanced at him worriedly, but he was going to get this out, whether or not she would understand. By the time she understood, it would be too late and he would be long home and away from this time.

 

“Sometimes I’m bitter and angry that she died before me. That she died in front of me, and I couldn’t do anything,” and he stared directly into her eyes, just barely refraining from glaring at her. “In my memories and dreams, she –” ‘You –’ “keeps leaving me behind and dying on me, and I resent the fact the images are burned into my memory.”

 

Barry reached over and grasped his hand, giving him a small smile. He wanted to wrench his hand away, glare at her and scream obscenities. But she, unmindful of his hateful and resentful thoughts, held onto his hand tighter, and he felt all the negativity just deflate out of him and tiredness replace it. This was just like Barry; every other time he knew her, no matter how angry or reticent he got with her, she stubbornly held onto him.

 

“It’s always painful to lose those close to us,” Barry told him understandingly. “And it’s not surprising that sometimes we feel angry at being left behind or having to be stuck remembering their deaths. It hurts after all. Sometimes you just want to forget, to run away.”

 

He had run away. Several times from her dead body, trying to escape the image and the truth. He also hated how cowardly it felt, but then again he refused to leave her for dead at the same time.

 

Time, no matter how stuck he was in an eternal wager with it over Barry Allen’s life and soul, was Harrison’s ultimate opponent –aside from Barry herself.

 

With hesitation –but willing to take advantage of the moment and his perceived emotional turmoil (that wasn’t all that faked, but merely displaced in true meaning) –Harrison carefully threaded his fingers through hers and gripped her hand more firmly. Bolstered by her not saying anything about it, he squeezed her hand and took a chance to glance at her.

 

She’d turned towards him after that and gave him an understanding look, along with one of her caring smiles. She bent forward and kissed his head kindly.

 

“I think we should both go back to bed,” she declared, and took the alcohol and glass away from him as well. She carded her hand through his hair. “Goodnight, Dr. Wells. Feel better, alright? I don’t think she would want you to be miserable and to remember her like this forever.”

 

She climbed into bed and got settled as he startled to wheel back towards the computers, mind awhirl. He stopped halfway and turned to her, seeing her still watching him.

 

“Harrison,” he said suddenly and she gave him a confused look. “You might as well call me Harrison, gathering you’ve seen me at my worse.”

 

She gave him a hesitant smile, her cheeks pinking slightly. “Really?”

 

He gave her a returned faint smile. “Really. If you wish to only in private, that is fine as well. Goodnight, Barry.”

 

The sound and taste of her name on his tongue was as familiar as it was both painful and bittersweet. And as he watched her fall asleep, his mind and thoughts weren’t on returning home like they should’ve been. Instead, they revolved around the familiarity of watching her sleep, her even breaths, and her calming presence.

 

Harrison allowed himself to find peace and calm in it, all through the night and even into the morning, when Cisco and Caitlin returned to the lab.

 

“It’s amazing,” Caitlin commented as she continued her final check on Barry. “You are completely healthy. Everything’s normal.”

 

“That’s a good thing, yeah?” Barry questioned.

 

“Yes, but you’ve been in a coma for nine months. And yet there’s no side effects at all, or any hint that you’ve been comatose. Your muscles don’t even show any sign of any state of atrophy. I’ve been analyzing the data we’ve gathered and I realized that somehow, you are in a constant state of cellular regeneration,” Caitlin explained her thoughts.

 

“So like Claire from Heroes?” Cisco piped up.

 

Everyone looked at him, but he shrugged. Caitlin coughed lightly.

 

“Er, yes, I suppose,” she muttered.

 

“Is that why I’ve got abs now?” Barry blurted out. “‘Cause you know, I woke up with them and it’s weird since I’ve been in a coma and not doing anything. And, uh, even before that, I hadn’t stepped foot inside a gym.”

 

Caitlin breathed in deeply, before giving a strained smile. “Yes, Barry, Cisco,” because Cisco had opened his mouth and was also about to second asking that, “I would hypothesize so.”

 

Barry tutted. “I don’t think I should recommend being hit by lightning to Iris for those abs she’d been trying to work out for…”

 

Caitlin pinched the bridge of her nose, but Harrison forced down the smile he’d wanted to make for the poor woman.

 

“Hey, you think you can do that vibrating hand thing again?” Cisco asked Barry. “I was wondering if you could use it like a drill? Like a similar move to karate users who can punch their hands through wooden planks or something!”

 

Barry laughed and agreed to Cisco’s experimentation, but Harrison withdrew into himself slightly. He remembered, as he did before when Barry first showed them how her hand vibrated, how often he’d vibrated his hand to kill others. Cisco, at one time, had been a victim to his “Vibrating Hand of Death,” as the young man had called it.

 

“Okay, I’m just going to put this here,” Cisco put the wooden board upright in a stand atop a table.

 

Barry frowned before she looked at her hand as she concentrated. It started to vibrate and Cisco cheered in success, watching eagerly. However, before Barry could move towards the board, her hand started to spark. Electrical currents ran around it and bits of it flitted off her hand in small doses until it began sparking violently.

 

What…How…It couldn’t be…

 

“Ohh, ohh! Try to direct those at the board,” Cisco suggested in eager surprise, unfazed by the new development.

 

However, while Caitlin inched closer to the medical equipment, clearly keen on getting things ready in case something went wrong, Harrison had frozen in his chair and stared in surprise at the new turn of events.

 

That clearly looked like Barry was at a precursor to creating electro-blasts.

 

Which was impossible. Or not done before. Barry had never been able to do those, and the one member of the “Flash family” capable of such was Lady Flash, Keeper of the Speed Force (and of another universe entirely).

 

But as he watched intently, Barry threw her vibrating hand out and created an electro-blast that blew apart the wooden board, with the remains smoldering on the floor.

 

Clearly, somehow this timeline was progressing at a different rate and creating divergences everywhere he looked.

 

He wasn’t looking forward to seeing if Time was trying to create a Checkmate against him.

 

~*~*~

 

Barry would have gone to see Iris first, but she figured that she should check in on work. Plus, Iris had seen her already, while the rest of the precinct –according to both Joe and Eddie –were a mess of nerves and excitement.

 

Indeed, the moment she stepped foot through the police station’s entrance, she couldn’t avoid the flying tackle from Officer Anderson. Or Officer Gibbons. Or Officer Doyle.

 

“Ouch,” Barry choked out from the floor, with the officers piled on top of each other and lastly on top of her. “Am I getting arrested?”

 

“No,” was the chorus of entertained replies from them, while Wiere came over and yanked Doyle off of the pile first.

 

“You idiots,” Wiere muttered at the guys, while turning his glare at her. “And you should be arrested, getting hit by lightning and going into a coma and leaving us all alone…baby face.”

 

“Not my fault,” Barry rolled her eyes, but accepted the offered hand to help her up. “And don’t call me that!”

 

“Welcome back, baby face!” Gibbons ignored her, before pulling her into a tight hug.

 

She sighed in exasperation, but smiled nonetheless. “Good to be back,” she agreed.

 

“Singh probably wants to talk to you, so you best head on over there, before he has a conniption about you coming back and not even bothering to go see him,” Doyle told her.

 

“Yeah,” Wiere agreed. “We’ll walk you there while catching you up on what’s happened.”

 

Barry, curious to know what else could have happened while she was out, started walking as she listened to their various accounts. While there was many amusing anecdotes from them, the one thing that stood out (for some reason) was the new addition to the CSI division.

 

“Malcolm Thorn, huh,” Barry said thoughtfully. “Sounds like Thawne.”

 

Gibbons coughed. “Speaking of Thawne, you speak to him recently?”

 

Barry nodded, thinking back to the night before. “Yeah, he visited with Joe and Iris last night. He was acting kind of strange, but he was sweet.”

 

With her nonchalant tone, the other guys mentally sighed.

 

“That poor guy,” Anderson muttered.

 

“Looks like I can’t dally any longer,” Barry mock-cringed as they reached the Captain’s office. “Time to face the music.”

 

They laughed at her and she knocked on the door, before Singh’s voice was heard telling her to enter. She slipped in and at the sight of her, Singh snorted and glared at her.

 

“You’re late. By nine months.”

 

Barry burst out into laughter, giving him a grin.

 

“Yeah, I know. I suck at timing.”

 

He gestured to the chairs in front of his desk and she sat in one, while he got comfortable in his own chair.

 

“About time you woke up, Allen. We were going to end up redecorating your lab into a break room,” he snarked, and she gave him a horrified look.

 

“You wouldn’t.”

 

“I would.”

 

Barry gave him a ‘kicked puppy’ look and he relented. He grumbled for a few more seconds as he rummaged around his desk, before tossing an envelope at her. The feel of the paper was exultant and she marveled at it, knowing it was expensive. As she slipped out the letter from inside, the paper was even more luxurious and Barry felt poor just holding it.

 

“What’s this?’ she asked inquiringly, not bothering to hide the awe in her voice.

 

“It’s an invitation,” Singh told her sarcastically.

 

Huffing at him, she unfolded the paper to read the invite, eyes widening. She glanced at it and then him several times, before asking if it was real.

 

“Sure is,” Singh shook his head. “Commissioner Gordon, who I know from way back, is being honored in a month. Bruce Wayne is hosting the gala that’s going to come after the award ceremony. I can’t go, but as a welcome back present, you want to go in my stead?”

 

Barry all but squealed, not holding herself back from tackling the Captain into a hug across his desk.

 

“If you’re going, say so!” he griped good-naturedly. “I have to RSVP it, since –like all fancy smancy parties go –it’s RSVP only.”

 

“I’m going, I’m going!” Barry excitedly agreed. “And I’ll get those Bruce Wayne pictures for you and Rob! Haha, I bet that’s the real reason you’re letting me go, huh?”

 

He smirked. “Partly, I would say. Head up, see your lab. I know you want to. But no starting work today! You just woke up and came in. You can start work by the end of the week.”

 

“Tomorrow,” she bargained.

 

“In two days,” he relented.

 

Going with that and not arguing, she saluted him and walked out, still holding onto the invitation with reverence. She headed to her lab, hesitating by the entrance as she remembered the last time she was in it. It was also strange how untouched it seemed, nothing out of place or out of the ordinary. Like she hadn’t been gone for so long…

 

“They practically preserved it,” an unfamiliar voice said from behind her and she whirled around to face a stranger.

 

He had a polite, if a little odd, smile on his face. His brown hair was neatly combed, and he wore a pressed button up shirt and tan slacks, with shoes so clean that Barry idly wondered if she could get anything from them if she were to examine them with her usual tools. She inwardly shook her head, knowing her tendency to be random produced strange thoughts.

 

The newcomer held out his hand. “I’m Malcolm Thorn. It’s nice to meet you…Barry Allen, I’m guessing?”

 

She gave a hesitant smile. “Yes, that’s me. I heard we got a new hire. It’s nice to meet you too, Malcolm. Er, if I can call you Malcolm?”

 

His off smile widened. “Malcolm’s fine, if I can call you Barry. I heard you’d woken up. The staff here at the precinct seems quite endeared to you.”

 

She blushed slightly. “I suppose. How do you like working here so far, Malcolm?”

 

“It’s been quite interesting,” he answered carefully. “Though I do look forward to working with you and well, under you. You seem to be the utmost authority in this division, and I hope that you will be able to take me under your wing, though I’m just one of the new technicians.”

 

Barry was taken aback by that, and even more so to know he’d been told so and seemed to have been drawn to those conclusions.

 

“Of course,” she agreed. “I wouldn’t mind at all. I would definitely be there for you, if you ever need any help.”

 

“I also would like you to know I enjoyed your book very much. It’s been very helpful,” Malcolm added on, and Barry was flattered as all heck.

 

“Oh, you found out about it? I didn’t think anyone would find and read it after all these years,” she said in surprise. “I’m glad you like it too!”

 

She beamed at him and decided she liked this new guy. He seemed nice and eager to help out, and he even found out and liked her book!

 

“I hope we become good friends, Malcolm,” she told him sincerely.

 

“So do I,” he replied. His smile twitched. “So do I.”

 

~*~*~

 

Iris was bored. She didn’t really want to work right then, especially since Barry had just woken up and she would prefer to be by her side. But since she was stuck there…

 

She snuck a blueberry muffin, wanting to eat something as she stress ate, while also have something that reminded her of Barry.

 

“I hope you’re going to pay for that.”

 

The wry tone went over her head as she recognized who it was, instinct leading her to turn and throw herself at the offending person and hug them tightly.

 

“Whoa, Iris,” the grin was easily heard in Barry’s voice. “I’m glad you’re happy to see me, but no need to cut off my air supply.”

 

But Iris didn’t want to let go. For nine months, Barry had been silent and still, and Iris had hated seeing her that way. She wanted to talk to her, say things as she lay in that hospital bed, but having Barry not responding to her made her heart clench and her mouth seal up tightly.

 

“I missed you,” Iris murmured.

 

“I missed you too,” Barry squeezed her tightly before letting go, even though Iris didn’t want her to. The taller girl took a step back and Iris reluctantly forced a smile on her face.

 

She observed her foster sister critically, trying to note any changes or see if she could conclude the current state she was in. Iris knew if she asked, Barry wouldn’t answer truthfully or evade if there was something wrong. She had that tendency to not want to make Iris or Joe worry.

 

Funnily enough, Iris noted that she’d gotten a little taller (or maybe that was just Iris’ imagination). Barry’s wiry and limber limbs had always fit well with her lean and slender body, and though long-limbed, she had never been lanky. Her tall height had helped to even it out, and Barry’s limbs had always looked graceful. She actually was graceful, probably helped and accentuated through years of ballroom dance lessons (which Iris had never gone for –she’d chosen to get onto a basketball team). The ballet lessons she’d taken when she was younger, when Barry’s mother was alive and her father wasn’t in prison, had probably helped as well.

 

Speaking of the ballet lessons, her father had always felt bad that he couldn’t continue them when they’d taken Barry in. The place had been too far away and was expensive, and there was no one who could take her there. But there luckily had been a place closer that had taught ballroom and was thankfully cheap and easy for Barry to get to. And when Barry was twelve, her father had at least managed to sign up and bring Barry to a ballet camp, as opposed to the reptile camp she’d strangely wanted to go to…

 

“You okay, Iris?” Barry asked worriedly.

 

Iris laughed. “Yeah, just reminiscing.”

 

“Ohh, is someone getting old on me?” Barry teased and Iris swatted at her head, though Barry was quick to duck away, laughing heartedly.

 

Iris idly reached out and grabbed Barry’s hand, holding it just because. Even after all these months, her skin still felt soft…

 

She laughed again, wondering if she should tease Barry about using the Mermaiden lotion that was so popular with women.

 

“Let’s get out of here, Berrykins,” Iris suggested, though she faltered at the rarely used nickname. She preferred using Blue Barry, given Berrykins had been given by someone else…especially who that someone else was…

 

But then Barry was squeezing her hand and leading her out of the coffee house, and Iris felt a warmth enter her.

 

She really had missed her best friend.

 

~*~*~

 

Barry had been walking and catching up with Iris for a good twenty minutes by then, when the squeal of tires and sirens was heard. She saw the black car speeding passed and then the police cars chasing it. And then it was a blur as adrenaline charged through her veins, and she narrowly sped Iris aside to miss the police car thrown their way. She didn’t think as she sped away from there, after she was sure Iris was okay. She just ran after the black car and quickly managed to get into the speeding vehicle and surprising the driver. But she was just as surprised since the driver was a man she’d been told had died the night she’d been struck by lightning.

 

Apparently, Clyde Mardon was alive and kicking.

 

Then the car flipped and Barry just managed to get out, though she’d hurt her ankle while she was at it. But he got out too, and he was unscathed and looking as smug as he was questioning. He twitched his hands and fog streamed around him and then began surrounding the area. She heard screeching tires and looked at the direction the sound was coming from, before doing a quick glance to where Mardon was supposed to be. He was gone.

 

She looked back to where the screeching tires sounded and saw the car caught unware and crashing into Mardon’s crashed car. She scrambled to her feet and rushed over, finding the driver, who was flitting in and out of consciousness. She used her speed to take him quickly out of the car and away from the burning vehicles.

 

“Hold on, please hold on,” she said, panicking.

 

But when the man stopped breathing, she reigned in her panic as much as she could, and began to perform CPR. After a while, she knew she was too late and a few tears slipped out.

 

“Barry? Barry!”

 

Iris ran closer, grabbing her and pulling her away from the man.

 

“Oh, Barry, it’s okay. You tried so hard, there was just nothing you could do,” she heard Iris trying to console her, but she couldn’t look away from the man she’d failed to save.

 

“Iris?! Barry!” she heard Joe yelling.

 

She was pulled away from Iris, who Joe was quick to give a look over but looked much better than Barry, who was completely shaken up.

 

“What are you two doing here? Iris, you know better! You aren’t even a cop! And Barry! You just woke up from a coma. You were just cleared to leave that place. And damn it, you know even Iris is better at protecting herself than you are.”

 

“Dad, come on,” Iris tried to interrupt her dad.

 

“No,” Joe said firmly. “Barry’s had a history of getting into trouble and getting hurt. She should have run away, and taken you with her while she was it, knowing how stubborn you are.”

 

Though still shaken up over a man dying in front of her and being unable to save him, Barry had to tell Joe what she saw.

 

“But…but the fog,” Barry tried to tell Joe. “The driver –it was Clyde Mardon. And it was like he was controlling the fog –”

 

“Barry, Mardon’s dead. I told you what happened to him. Dead men don’t drive cars,” Joe was starting to get frustrated.

 

“You don’t understand!” Barry’s voice started to get shrill. “I saw him! And I saw what he did –”

 

“Which is impossible!” Joe shot her down. “Don’t do this, Barry. Not this and not now.”

 

“You don’t believe me,” Barry pursed her lips. “You never believe me!”

 

Iris winced. “Come on, you two. Why don’t we calm down and talk this through?”

 

But her efforts were in vain as Joe bristled and glared Barry down, who just as angrily glared back.

 

“You want to do this? You want to do this now? Out here? Fine. Mardon is dead, he can’t control some supernatural fog. Your mother died, and your father is the murderer! There was no lightning storm in your living room that night. Just a scared little girl making up fantasies and not wanting to face up to reality. Just a girl wanting to make sense of things, because the truth hurts too much!”

 

“Dad, enough!” Iris grabbed at Joe’s arm, but he shook her off.

 

“He’s guilty, Barry. He killed your mother. I’m sorry. I know it, the jury knew it, and now he’s paying for what he did. It’s better you face up to the truth than to believe in your delusion forever. I have done my best to raise you since. I don’t ask you for much, I don’t ask you for anything. Not even a thank you. But right now, I’m asking you for once in your life, accept what’s real.”

 

Barry stared hard at him, and if there were tears in her eyes, no one there said anything. Then she turned on her heel and began to storm away, even with the limp her ankle was troubled with.

 

~*~*~

 

Eddie was uncomfortable after hearing all that, but he’d done his best to sound normal and professional as he gave Joe the sketch, showing the perp…who unfortunately did indeed look like Clyde Mardon, as Barry had suggested.

 

Even without the weird cases he’d begun to believe in because of Barry, this just seemed too much of a coincidence to be one in the first place.

 

“Your coffee’s going to get cold,” he muttered, while shaking his head about it.

 

Iris huffed angrily, still messing with her phone. “Barry’s not answering. I called her phone a dozen times. I called everyone else. No one else knows where she is either.”

 

“Have you tried asking your dad?” Eddie asked hesitantly and immediately regretted it when Iris shot him a scathing look.

 

“No, of course not,” Iris growled. “This is his fault in the first place.”

 

Eddie wisely kept quiet to that. Joe was still his partner after all.

 

“Ugh! Now there’s nothing! She turned her phone off,” Iris threw her phone at the table in disgust. But then she began to fret. “But Dad was right about one thing. Barry did just wake up and just left STAR Labs. Is she really okay? What if something happens? And I know I saw that limp!”

 

She buried her face into her hands and Eddie awkwardly reached over the table to pat her shoulder in comfort. She looked up miserably at him.

 

“Usually, Barry’s the one who worries and mother hens us. She’s very careful with herself, and is the mature and responsible one out of the two of us. Three of us actually, because even Dad gets a scolding or two from her. But she does get into the habit of being put into some really bad situations, which because she’s always taking care of us, makes us extremely overprotective of her. We don’t really tend to trust anyone else with her, or let her do much if we’re not sure it’ll be safe,” Iris admitted.

 

“She’s not really a fighter. Dad tried teaching her, with me as her sparring partner…but that didn’t turn out so well. That’s why he always tells her to run. Hell, even between the two of us, he’s more overprotective over her. It’s just that Barry really can’t fend for herself, and he knows that I can better. When I was fourteen, I punched the lights out of a guy a grade higher than me for calling me a negro bitch. With me, Dad’s never had too much of an issue of knowing I can take care of myself. But Barry…”

 

Iris frowned, depressingly prodding at her phone. “When she was a freshman, there was a guy named Tony Woodward. He’d picked on her since elementary school, but Homecoming was coming up and he went and asked Barry. Barry wasn’t really the popular type, so she was surprised. Even though he picked on her, there wasn’t a lot of other prospects and she’s always been the type to see or try to see the good in people. She gave him a chance and I thought things were okay. Then Homecoming came and sometime during it, he’d locked her into a cramped closet. She wasn’t found until the next morning, and she wouldn’t talk about it.”

 

Eddie’s blood boiled, and he swore if he ever met this guy, he’d be off duty and wouldn’t be doing any arresting. He’d been bullied himself and to know that Barry had gone through something like that made him angry. A girl like her didn’t deserve that, but that it was her made it worse and he wished he’d been in the same school and grade as Barry. He wouldn’t have let that happen. Damn it, he would have asked her out to Homecoming…

 

“I wish she would just answer her phone,” Iris snatched her phone off the table to try again.

 

Eddie bit his lip and looked at his own phone. It was a strange way to get a girl’s number, but…

 

“Maybe I could try?”

 

~*~*~

 

She didn’t know why, but she felt like she was starving. She was scarfing down Big Belly burgers like there was no tomorrow, and her fries weren’t doing any better.

 

And well, she wasn’t sure what to do now either.

 

After storming off, upset and hurt, Barry had started to run (with her ankle strangely becoming fine a little before so). She ran until she reached a sign and realized she’d run all the way to Starling City. On one hand, she wouldn’t mind going to talk to either Oliver or Felicity, but on the other she just wanted to be alone and…brood, she guessed. Besides, Oliver did enough brooding on his own, for her to not add on with her brooding.

 

Her phone rang again, and she’d already lost count of how many times it had since she’d left Central City (she momentarily turned it off before guiltily and quickly turning it back on). Most of them had come from Iris, with some sparse ones from Joe. But after a while, even he had started to call even more frequently. Even Singh had called a few times.

 

There was an unknown number this time. Barry was just going to ignore it like she had been, but against her better judgement she answered. To her surprise, Eddie was on the other line.

 

“Eddie? Why are you calling me? How’d you get my number?”

 

“Um…Iris gave it to me. You weren’t answering her calls, so I told her I could try. You really should answer though, Barry. Everyone’s worried.”

 

Barry winced. She didn’t exactly mean to worry anyone. She just wanted to be away, and cool off some steam.

 

“I’m fine, Eddie,” she said gently. “Thanks for calling and checking. I’m sorry for worrying you and Iris. Please tell Iris I’m alright and not to worry.”

 

“Er, there are other people worried too –”

 

“I’m not talking to Joe,” she said flatly.

 

Eddie cleared his throat. “I wasn’t talking about him.”

 

Barry scrunched up her eyebrows, before hesitatingly continuing. “Um, if somehow Iris incited a panic over me…particularly around the precinct…please insist I’m alright and disregard Iris.”

 

“I’ll try?”

 

“Yeah, thanks,” Barry muttered. “I’ve gotta go now, Eddie. See you soon.”

 

Iris’ voice was suddenly heard. “Don’t you hang up, Barry –!”

 

But Barry did hang up. Idly, she had a funny thought that they might have traced her phone, but then she shook her head. They wouldn’t do that…

 

Elsewhere…

 

“Ugh! I can’t believe her!” Iris shouted.

 

Eddie looked at her sheepishly, just as Gibbons looked over the shoulder of one of Barry’s fellow CSI.

 

“Please tell me you traced that, Edwards,” Anderson glared at the poor CSI worker.

 

“I got it!” the man squeaked. “Um…says here she’s in…Starling City?”

 

“How the hell did she get to Starling City that fast?” Iris stared at him.

 

Edwards shrugged at the rest of them.

 

“Barry’s the genius CSI, not me.”

 

But back with Barry, her appetite was starting (finally) to slow down, and she decided on getting dessert. As she was enjoying an ice cream sundae, a well-dressed man came closer to her table.

 

“Hello, I was hoping I could take this seat? The place is filled,” he gave a polite smile.

 

Looking around, she realized he was right. Nodding, she smiled at him and gestured at the seat. After he sat down, he introduced himself.

 

“I’m Al Sa-Her.”

 

For some reason, that kind of rung a bell with her. Shrugging the feeling off, Barry continued to smile.

 

“I’m Barry,” she introduced herself in turn.

 

“It’s nice to meet you,” he inclined his head. “Forgive my intrusion, but I can’t help but notice that you seem to be…upset perhaps?”

 

Barry hesitated, not sure if she wanted to say anything, especially to a stranger. But she’d really like to say something to someone…

 

“I got upset with family,” she decided to stick with. “Right now, I’m kind of just not talking or speaking to anyone.”

 

“Except comfort eating in this restaurant with a stranger?”

 

At his smirk, she blushed and nodded. He lost his smirk suddenly though.

 

“Take it from me. I’ve been estranged from my son and daughter. Family is important. Family is always important.”

 

Barry looked at him curiously, though inwardly she felt all her anxiety and tension release. She also understood where he was coming from, and felt calmer and more willing to talk to Joe.

 

Before she could open her mouth and also try to say something comforting about his own family, he leaned over the table and reached behind her ear, producing a coin behind it. She gaped at him. He was back to smirking and tossed the coin at her, and she caught it.

 

“Cheer up,” he told her. “Things will work out, I’m sure. Do what you need to do. Just make sure to know your convictions and be willing to do whatever it takes for them. Do not lose sight,” his tone turned serious and caught her off guard.

 

“I…I see,” she refrained from gulping.

 

But then he smiled and flicked his wrist, a spoon appearing in his hand. He reached over and scooped some of her ice cream.

 

“I believe your ice cream is melting. Best not to let it, yes?”

 

She nodded slowly, even as she stared in awe.

 

“You’re…you’re like a magician!”

 

He laughed lightly. “I am, aren’t I?”

 

Later, when he left, she was surprised to see a number on a napkin near her plate.

 

Call if you ever need advice.

 

~*~*~

 

Barry walked around, watching as the night descended. She still wasn’t up to returning to Central City, though she really wanted to talk to Oliver. And yet, she still didn’t want to burden him with her problems.

 

Then her phone rang and she sighed. Taking it out, she saw Felicity’s number and answered.

 

“Felicity?”

 

“About time. Why are you just wandering around the city?”

 

Barry moved her phone away and gaped at it. Then she put it back to her ear.

 

“How did you know that?! How did you even know I was in the city?”

 

“I heard you were awake and tried to call earlier. You didn’t answer and Oliver and I got worried. I traced your cell to here, so I hacked the cameras around the city.”

 

Barry winced and shook her head at the blonds. “You and Oliver,” she muttered. “Look, I’m…fine. I got upset with family and made my way here. And…other stuff happened,” Barry’s shoulders slumped.

 

“…Oliver says to meet him. I’ll send you the address, okay? I probably won’t get to see you, but we’ll make time to do something.”

 

Barry smiled slightly. “Yeah, okay. I’ll see Oliver and I miss you too, Felicity.”

 

“I’m glad you’re awake,” the IT girl whispered.

 

Feeling warm, Barry muttered off a bye and hung up. Not too long after, she received a text that had the location she was supposed to meet Oliver at. Rolling her eyes at the fact it had to be a rooftop, she sped her way there. The blond was typically lounging on the rooftop edge, all decked out in his green archer outfit.

 

“Hey, Ollie,” she smiled brightly at the archer, happy to see him again.

 

His lips moved up and he gave her a fond look. “Barry. Good to see you awake and walking around.”
 

Giving him a sheepish look, she walked over and leaned against the rooftop’s border, next to Oliver’s hanging legs.

 

“I’m glad the mask fits,” she looked up and observed it on his face.

 

He gave a half-smirk. “‘Course it did. You made it.”

 

She laughed and he joined in. After a moment, things quieted between them and Oliver quietly stared her down, while she fidgeted under his gaze.

 

“I…” she swallowed, “When the lightning struck me, I was out for nine months. It was scary waking up and finding that out, and wondering what had changed around me. I felt like everyone and everything had just moved on and I wouldn’t be able to fit back in. And then to further find out that I…The lightning somehow gave me powers. I can speed around so fast, like I was in Central City and managed to get here to Starling practically just like that.”

 

And Barry did a demonstration, shooting off from her spot to the other side of the rooftop, stopping there, and then speeding back to Oliver’s side. His eyes widened.

 

“It was crazy. I couldn’t believe I could do that. But it was also exciting and exhilarating,” Barry confessed. “And I thought, I’m finally fast enough to do something before it’s too late. But that’s not true. I…I was with Iris when there was a speeding car that went by us. The police were chasing it, but couldn’t get to him. I caught up and stopped his vehicle, but he had powers too. He could create and control fog, and the area became so dense with it that it was hard to see. And another car crashed into his car, and the perp got away and I tried to help the driver of the car. I got him out, but…he stopped breathing,” Barry sniffled and viciously wiped at her eyes. “He stopped breathing and I tried CPR, but nothing worked! I couldn’t save him!”

 

Oliver was silent for a second, before heavily landing a hand on her shoulder.

 

“I have been doing this for a while, Barry, and I’ve made mistakes. When, not if, you do this, you will end up making mistakes as well. You just have to pick yourself up and learn from them. You may be fast now, but you can still end up tripping.” Then Oliver grinned slightly. “And didn’t you tell me how you’ve been searching for the impossible all your life? Something to prove something happened that night, with your mother? And look at you now. You are the impossible, Barry.”

 

“I don’t know if I have what it takes to be a hero,” she looked down on the ground.

 

Oliver jumped off the border and stepped closer to her, framing her face with his hands and lifting it up. When he had her looking into his face, he raised an eyebrow.

 

“I’m pretty sure fourteen days in Starling City traipsing off with me and helping with my crew, even without powers, is enough to brand you a hero. You’re not just the girl who was struck by lightning. I think the lightning chose you for a reason.”

 

She gave him a brief smile, her spirits lifting. “You…really think I can be a vigilante like you?”

 

Oliver chuckled. “No way. You? You can be so much better. You can be what I can’t. You’re a guardian angel, Barry. You’re going to move through your city and make a difference, saving lives. Hell, I bet your city will love you. Starling’s just about had it with me,” he grinned roguishly, causing Barry to giggle.

 

She leaned into him and he let her, with her sighing.

 

“Like old times, huh,” he moved his fingers through her hair. “Although you might want to do something with your hair. You keep speeding everywhere, it’ll stay windblown. Or people will assume it’s sex hair.”

 

Barry turned slightly and hit his arm, though she bit her lip from voicing her pain. His arm was muscled and that hurt.

 

“You’ve got a good heart. Now you’ve fast legs,” he murmured, pulling her into his side again.

 

She inhaled sharply at that, remembering her mother’s words. A small smile settled onto her face and she closed her eyes, seeing her mother’s proud figure.

 

“Up for a night of vigilantism?” Oliver tugged at her hair, and she looked up to see him with a teasing smile. She blinked, and he hooked a foot around a duffle bag behind him, pulling it closer to them. “While I’ll remind you to take your own advice –wear a mask –you can do that back home.”

 

Barry practically squealed as she dove for the duffle bag. She pulled out a familiar compound bow and a red leather outfit similar to Oliver’s.

 

“Hood up, Red Hood,” Oliver teased.

 

“Ugh, don’t call me that!” Barry pouted. “That’s so lame and unoriginal.”

 

Oliver snickered. “Well, I’m the original –The Hood. You’re my sidekick in red. Hence, Red Hood.”

 

“Aren’t they calling you The Arrow now?” Barry griped, switching her jeans for the leather red pants. Oliver turned away, still snickering. “Why can’t I be Red Arrow? It sounds better!”

                                                                                                                     

“Gotta work your way up, Barry. I started as The Hood, and so are you.”

 

Barry wrinkled up her nose, finishing zipping up the vest. “There’s already a Red Hood. A bad guy. Batman’s bad guy. And wasn’t the Joker originally named the Red Hood?”

 

“Different people, different times,” Oliver brushed it off. “Blame the media. Now let’s get going. How’s your camp slash collegiate archery skills?” he teasingly asked the familiar question.

 

“Still rusty,” she replied dryly.

 

“Good,” he said smugly. “You better start moving…in a flash.”

 

“Ohh, I like that! Even if you are being cheesy though.”

 

Oliver tossed her her quiver, and she put it on, keeping a tight grip on her compound bow. He shot an arrow at a building, with a cable trailing behind it.

 

“Ready to go, Little Red?” he kept teasing her.

 

Barry gave him a disgusted look. “Don’t do that. I’ll feel like even more of Little Red Riding Hood than I want to be.”

 

Oliver just laughed at her and swung on the cable, leaving her behind. She huffed and followed, speeding after him.