Sparks Fly {the flash}

seven

Barry

"Hartley?" Cisco practically screeched. "Hartley's back?"

I nodded, crossing my arms across my chest. "Hartley's back."

He groaned, collapsing in one of the chairs as Caitlin inspected the pictures of him that Izzy took at the crime scene. "Out of everyone we've had in the Pipeline, why did he have to be the one to come back?"

"He has the biggest reason to." Caitlin stated, looking at him. "He was wronged by Dr. Wells, and, since he probably doesn't know that he's been erased from existence, he's probably trying to come back."

"Then why would he rob a bank?" I voiced the question that had been nagging me since I found out he was back.

"He's probably out of money, and he's desperate to get some for whatever he's doing."

"Which would be what?"

She shrugged. "Building something, hiring someone. Anything is a plausible reason."

"It just doesn't make sense. He's been MIA ever since he got out of The Pipeline. Why, after all this time, would he come back in such a common way?"

"I don't know." She said, sounding as confused as we all felt.

"I really don't like how all of this feels." Cisco stated, shifting in his seat. "I never liked him in the first time, and now that he's certifiably evil," he shuddered, "he just gives me a bad feeling."

"Well, we'll find a way to stop whatever he's planning." I stated hopefully. "We've managed to apprehend him once. It might be a little harder this time, but I know we can do it."

"Always the optimist." Iris' voice rang through the Cortex.

I turned my chair towards the enterance to see my best friend standing there, her hands buried deeply in the pockets of her coat. I smiled at her. "Nice to see you again." I joked, standing up to welcome her with a hug.

She chuckled. "Sorry, Barry. Things have been a little hectic at work for the past few weeks, but I've finally managed to get a day off to come and bother you."

"You could never bother me, Iris."

"Then it wouldn't trouble you to take a walk with an old friend?"

I looked back at Caitlin and Cisco. "Do you guys mind?"

They both shook their heads with smile. "Of course not." Caitlin said.

I thanked both of them and said goodbye before grabbing my coat and walking out with Iris. The rain was finally starting to die down, but it was being replaced by a rather bitter cold front. It was going to make everything pretty icy for the next week or so, but I wasn't going to complain. I preferred the cold over the rain anyway. "So, what's up?" I asked. "You haven't asked me to take a walk with you since I found out about you and Eddie?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm already hyped up on caffeine, so I figured it would be easier to walk it off than ingest more and be up until six tomorrow morning."

I laughed sincerely. "That makes sense."

"So how are things with you?"

"They're pretty good. We think that one of our old prisoners is coming back with a vengeance, though, so I'm probably going to have my hands full."

"Meta-human?" She asked, sounding a little too hopeful.

I shook my head. "Nope. He's just a normal person who happens to be smarter than the average bear."