Paralyzer || Barry Allen (The Flash) Fanfiction

Chapter 2: Unresolved Questions

I rose with the sun the following morning, a strange miracle considering I was never a morning person. I may have always had work at nine in the morning, but that didn't mean I was fond of getting up so early. It almost felt like the sun was providing me with the energy I needed to start my day, a job which usually fell upon my coffee. Still, even with the newfound strength the sunlight seemed to provide, I needed some form of comfort in my messed up life.

After quickly smoothing down my hair and washing my face in the river that ran behind the cave — a lovely surprise I'd discovered the night before — I decided I looked decent enough to walk in the city without receiving too many stares. All I wanted was a warm cup of coffee in the early winter chill to help clear my mind and soothe my body. There was no place that could provide me with that perfect brew like CC Jitters.

I zipped into the city and stopped in an alley about a block from the café, making sure that no one was looking when I came to a halt. Before stepping out I made sure to brush down my clothes and comb my fingers through my hair so it didn't look like I'd just been running. Only after I was absolutely sure I looked like the picture of normal did I stride out onto the sidewalk.

The city was buzzing with energy and life, people moving at all different paces depending on what the day held for them. I wasn't even sure what day of the week it was, but I assumed it was a weekday as I watched many businessmen and women in suits hurrying along the concrete sidewalks towards the business center of the city. There were children with backpacks who ran along the sidewalk in an attempt to make it to school without being late. I smiled as they passed, reminiscing about my own days as a child.

A few minutes later I finally reached the coffee shop. As I peeled open the door I was hit with a blast of warm air, and the sweet aroma of coffee beans filled my nostrils. I let out a contented sigh and headed for the line at the counter.

As I waited I looked over to the television that hung on the wall. The station was tuned into GMT news, and the reporter droned on about the little events of today. I was only half paying attention, my mind mostly thinking about where I would go after this, but a small report brought my focus back to the reporter's words.

"And it looks like Central City has its own personal guardian angel," the journalist was saying. "According to numerous eye witness reports there have been multiple sightings of the city's scarlet speedster around town. Most report seeing the red streak during crimes and even during individual tragedies such as house fires. Although no one has gotten a close look at the masked hero many do believe our city's scarlet angel is, in fact, a human."

I tuned out the rest of her commentary once more, my mind too wrapped up in what I'd just heard. There was someone that was like me. Someone with speed beyond comprehension who'd probably gotten their powers during the explosion as well. I suddenly wanted to meet this hero, to ask how they were coping with their new life so well, but I knew that would be a difficult task. Finding someone who was constantly on the go could turn out to be a very annoying game of tag where I could never get close enough to catch them.

"Next!" a voice at the counter called, snapping me out of my thoughts as I realized it was my turn.

I ordered the house brew and gave the barista the money before taking my coffee and sitting down at one of the tables by the windows. I wrapped my hands around the hot mug, savoring the warmth the coffee provided. My eyes closed and I thought back to the last time I was here. It was the morning of the accident, and I'd met a friendly boy around my age. He'd just gotten back from Starling City, the place where I lived for part of my life before returning to Central City where I'd been born, and we'd chatted casually about the town. I wish I could remember his name, but it eluded my fuzzy memory after the events of that night. It seemed like my mind was trying to forget the life I used to have, probably a defense mechanism to allow me to accept this new life more easily. Too bad I wasn't going down without a fight.