Within Seconds: Sylas & Allen

King of Dramatic Effect

With some thought, Parker understood why Jay let her keep it. Even if he had admitted the hat was his, the skepticism wouldn't have left.

Parker left the building after giving Jay a few blankets and a pillow.

Barry left to stop a fire, which would take no more than an hour. Thinking he'd be back in no time, she fell asleep on the left side of the bed, leaving the right side open for him.

Turns out, leaving half the bed open was nothing except cold. Barry hadn't come home, and the following morning, he wouldn't answer his cell phone.

The first thing she did was call Joe, who immediately said, "He's with me at the crime scene from last night."

"Do you mean the fire? What made it into a crime scene?" Parker asked. In a minor panic, she said, "You know what, I'm just coming in."

"But he saw the meta's face."

"Joe, he got attacked. I am the team leader, I need to ensure--"

Wanting to avoid Momma Bear Parker, Joe said, "Okay, okay, I'll open the gate."

Twenty minutes later, Parker ducked underneath the police tape. "Where is he?"

Joe rolled his eyes, pointing his finger in the direction of a room towards the back of the warehouse.

Running to it, Parker reached the door and called, "Hello?"

"Is it me you're looking for?" Barry sang.

"Do you make it a purpose to convert our conversations into song lyrics?" Parker asked, mock disapprovingly.

Barry tried to hug her, but she slapped his hands away. Her hands roamed over his face, his arms, then his chest, checking for signs of harm. Parker touched his hips, making him giggle. His ticklish hips brought a smile to her lips.

She tried to reach for him again, but he caught her hands, twisting her back against his chest. In that position, Parker faced a woman.

"Hello," Patty said, a smile on her lips from watching the scene.

"Hi! I'm sorry I didn't notice you. When I'm looking for Barry, it's like there's no one else around."

Barry's tone was somber as he said, "Park, that was really sweet.."

"Are you two together?" Patty asked.

"He likes to say that we are," Parker said as Barry said an enthusiastic, "Yes!"

Rolling his eyes, Barry introduced, "Park, this is Patty Spivot."

"And this is Parker Sylas, right?" Patty wondered, sparing a glance at Barry. Once he nodded, Patty shook Parker's hand. "It's an honor to meet you, too."

"Seen her drawings?" Barry asked.

"So realistic," Patty complimented. "I was telling Barry earlier that I'm a fan of his police reports. It's like he's there when people are being murdered."

"Yeah, that's actually why he became a forensic scientist," said Parker. Patty's eyebrows raised, showing much interest. "So he could hide the murders," Parker continued, then gasped, "Oh, whoops, I mean solve. Silly me."

Barry sighed. "She's always like this, Patty," he said. "You get used to it."

Patty shared a kind smile with the couple before the exited the room, leaving them alone.

"She's cute. I like her," Parker said. "So, what do you want to do tonight?"

Barry held out the sample of what appeared to be sand. "Gotta take this to the lab first. And then I'm all yours."

Parker jumped into Barry's arms. "To HQ, my stead!"

Twenty minutes later, Barry and Parker had Caitlin, Iris, and Cisco rounded up and in the Cortex to discuss the meta of the week.

"Found it at the crime scene," Barry told Cisco, handing over the sample. "It's gotta be from the meta that attacked me."

Peering at the bottle, Cisco asked, "What is this stuff, sand?"

"It's not sand," a familiar deep voice disagreed. Jay Garrick walked through the Cortex door, tugging his sweatshirt over his stomach. "It's human cells whose myosin II protein have migrated to the cell's periphery."

Besides Caitlin and Parker, who were already aware of Jay's science background, the others looked surprised at the science ramble that came from Jay's mouth.

"Jay's a fellow science nerd," Caitlin said.

"Those cells have the ability to rearrange and harden, giving them the appearance of sand," Jay finished.

"And how do you know this?" Barry asked skeptically.

"They belong to a meta-human I've fought before named Sand Demon," Jay introduced.

Cisco stood up instantly. "Okay, I know you're new here, so I'm just gonna break it down for you: the whole 'naming the bad guys thing' that's my jam," he said defensively. Backing down after he saw Jay's straight face, he said, "But you know what, I'm gonna let you have that one, 'cause I kinda like it, I'm not mad at that one," he admitted. In a high tone, he asked, "Uh, is that Barry's sweatshirt?"

"Sorry, it was all we could find," Iris said.

Chuckling, Cisco said, "I was gonna say, 'cause it looks a lot smaller on Barry, right?"

Parker slapped a hand over her mouth to hide her smile. By her face, and the wide eyes of Caitlin, Cisco's smile faded. "I, uh, have to go.."

"So, who is this Sand Demon?" Iris asked, once Cisco left.

"I don't know his name, but I know how to stop him," Jay said.

"I think we'll be fine on our own," Barry protested.

"Look, Barry, I don't know what else I can do to prove to you I'm on your side," Jay said, letting out a frustrated sigh. "I've been poked, prodded, I even subjected myself to a full body scan."

"I was being thorough," Caitlin defended.

Parker looked at Jay's abdomen, then at Caitlin, wiggling her eyebrows with inquiry. Caitlin blushed, giving Parker the answer she wanted.

"Sand Demon's from my world. Let me teach you how to stop him," Jay offered.

"Yeah, I don't need you to teach me anything," Barry said.

"Zoom sent Rothstein here to kill you,"
Jay said slowly.

Parker's lips split in thought. "He probably sent Sand Demon here to do the same."

"Don't you get it? Anyone close to the Flash, including all of you, are in danger!" Jay warned.

"If you were so good," Barry said, his face hard, his tone flat. "You would have caught him already."

"Hey," Parker warned.

"Let's get Jay back to his cell," Barry said. His shoulder brushed past Jay's as he walked out of the Cortex, smug with his sass.

"What a drama queen.." Parker scoffed.