Tiger Stripes and Lightening Strikes

16: Robbed

Barry knew anger. He knew the white hot burn of fury. He knew the breathtaking furnace that roared in his heart. It was scarcely ever lit, and he could count on two hands the number of times it had been. When flames took to it, nothing could extinguish them. They chewed up and spat out any other thought in his mind. They consumed his whole being. It had burned when he learned Harrison Wells was the one who murdered his mother. It had burned when he found out Jay was Zoom. It had burned when Savitar threatened Iris and Joe's life. Now, as Barry stared down at the gaping hole where his father's grave used to lay, that furnace was lit once more.

A few cops were bustling around the huge expanse of open grass. Gravestones were organised in militant rows, two very familiar ones boxed in by yellow tape that flapped in the breeze. The sky was grey, dark clouds rolling in.

When he stared down at the two graves before him, graves of people he ached to be reunited with, his soul trembled. One was perfectly preserved, the other nothing but a headstone over a gaping hole. Claw marks were slashed all over the ground, dirt kicked up into mounds. Within, the wooden coffin had been smashed to shards.

Barry's pulse was pounding in his ears, his breaths coming out in short puffs. Fury burned in his chest, so hot his vision tinted red.

"Barry," Joe approached him with a sympathetic look.

"Why can't our enemies leave my parents out of this," Barry growled, his nose flaring and teeth grinding. "They're already dead. Can't they at least be left at peace in the afterlife."

"Bar," Joe tenderly took his shoulders. "We don't know who did this yet."

"Yes, we do," Barry snapped, brushing off Joe to duck under the yellow tape and glare down into the empty coffin. "Stripes figures out who I am and the next thing we know my dad's body is stolen from its grave." Joe approached him slowly. "The claw marks on the ground, they had to have been done by a huge animal. One as big as Stripes or the new Wolf chimera." He turned to Joe, his face warping in anger. "They took my dad, Joe."

Joe's mouth opened and he faltered. "Who knows what they'll do to his body," Barry blurted, taking a step towards his adoptive father. "What if they just want to show off they have power over me. What if they do something to him."

Again, Joe took Barry gently by the shoulders. "We'll find your dad Barry. I promise,"

Barry's glare hardened. "I know we will," he swore. "I'll make sure that those damn chimera's never see the light of day once they are locked in iron heights where they belong."

*

Central City's park, Central Greens, was something to behold during sunset. Although the trees sported only orange leaves, and their skeletal figures were sharply outlined by the tangerine sky, there was something very appeasing about the view. Perhaps it was the lush grasses that poked out from under a carpet of fallen leaves. Perhaps it was the last golden rays of the day outlining the dark clouds. Perhaps it was the quiet little nook Sebastian and Santana had found together.

The bench they had chosen was in a secluded little grove, a single mud pathway leading in. A small stream tinkled as it bubbled by. Birds twittered and sang, the noise of the city a feint whisper. The air carried with it a bitter nip. One that reminded him starkly of Ohio.

For a while, they'd been quietly practicing and refining the bumps and grooves of their performance for Helix. By the time they were happy with it, they were quietly seated side by side and observing the surrounding scenery.

"How has New York been treating you?" Sebastian asked after they placed the finishing touches on their performance.

"Are you trying to make small talk, twink?" she arched a brow. "I thought someone with your level of eloquence would never stoop to such a level."