Paralyzer || Barry Allen (The Flash) Fanfiction

Chapter 13: Baby Steps

Sunday was agonizingly slow as I waited for the rest of the crew to show up to STAR Labs. After I'd gotten home so late the previous night -- Cisco and Caitlin had insisted I stay at the lab until they were sure my concussion was minor enough to not potentially lead to anything more harmful -- I'd had difficulty falling asleep. The shadowed figure haunted my dreams, and I ended up not being able to sleep after four in the morning. Staying at home wasn't going to get me anywhere, so I'd decided to head to the lab and do some research for a list of possible people my opposite could be.

So far, the wraith had been right. I was going to need some serious luck to figure out who she really was.

Around six in the morning, I sensed the man's presence before I even saw him. I was somewhat glad that he was here now rather than showing up at the same time as the others because it saved me from having to make an excuse to talk to him one on one. On the other hand, after our past few conversations ending on a less than favorable note, I was a little nervous to speak with him.

"Good morning, Dr. Wells," I greeted as I turned to face him.

"And the same to you, Haven," he returned with one of his tight smiles. "I didn't expect you to be here this early."

"I'm surprised considering how much you usually do expect from me," I commented with a similar rigid grin.

"You know I only want what's best for you," Dr. Wells sighed as he wheeled down the ramp and towards the center of the room.

"Really?" I insisted accusingly. "Because, for some reason, I feel like it's Barry you're worried about, not me. I wasn't part of your initial plan with all this superhuman nonsense. For someone who plans everything so precisely my presence here has to irk you."

The scientist gave a dry chuckle, and I knew I had hit the mark. "You never fail to remind of your intelligence, Miss Knight." There was a small pause before he continued. "Yes, you are correct. You were not part of the plan I had imagined, and it is... Difficult, to say the least, to have another meta-human around. However, I assure you that I have never put your needs aside simply because my focus is on Barry. In fact, you hold a tremendous amount of power that you could not even begin to imagine. And, to be quite honest, everyone here at STAR Labs is a bit frightened of you reaching your full potential."

"Well, you'll all have to get over it soon because I'm going to need to reach that potential very soon," I stated as I smoothly transitioned into the real topic I wanted to discuss. I fully intended to deal with the other parts of his speech later, but that wasn't necessarily my main focus at this moment. There were more important matters than our feud that needed to be addressed.

Dr. Wells looked to me, his mouth remaining shut as he waited for me to let him in on the information I was withholding. I took a deep breath, preparing myself to recount the events of last night as I opened up to him.

"Last night we received a distress alert that led us to 7th Street," I began. "Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm pretty sure the signal was set off for the sole purpose of luring me there." Dr. Wells raised an eyebrow, and I hurried on. "When I arrived, there was nothing happening. No crime, no people... The entire area felt like the life had been drained from it. Even the street lights were out. And then... There was this floating black figure, this ghost-like creature. She claimed she was my opposite, my shadow. She said everyone had darkness inside them, even me. That she had already planted the darkness in me herself, which led me to realize--"

"That the thing you saw was just a projection and not the actual form of your enemy," Dr. Wells finished for me as he caught on. I nodded my head.

He seemed to be in awe, and I wondered whether that was a good or bad thing. I mean, I had been a little curious at how someone was powerful enough to project their essence like that, but I hadn't been awed. I'd been terrified of it.