The Flash: Repentance

Chapter XVII

Wenn heaves a sigh and places a kiss on his chest.

"Thank you..."

She untangles herself from him and takes a hold of his hand. He puts his other hand to her cheek.

"Anytime..." He smiles, then furrows his brow.

He just now really starts to process the whole story. Because of the horror of it, he didn't pick up on certain details. He does now though.

"Did you say your ex struck a deal with some guy in the army?" Barry asks her.

Wenn nods, "He only introduced himself once, but I can't remember."
She chuckles, "It's funny how the brain remembers every little detail of trauma you once experienced, but forgets simple things like names."

"Survival instinct, to make sure we avoid situations that can hurt us like that again. Can I borrow your laptop for a minute?" He asks. Wenn nods.

He puts her down from his lap and retrieves the computer. He performs a search and when he finds what he is looking for, or rather who he is looking for, he turns the computer to Wenn,

"Is this the army guy?" He asks her.

Wenn immediately recoils when she sees the picture. Barry quickly turns the screen away, her reaction speaks volumes.

"Eiling..." Barry spits, and closes the laptop forcefully. He puts it to the side.

"You know him?" Wenn asks.

"I've ran in to him a couple of times. He's an inhumane bastard. I dunno, it looks like he takes pleasure in torturing his 'assets' as he calls them. He did so when he got his hands one of his soldiers who was affected by the accelerator explosion, as well as Professor Stein. And to get me, he devised a bomb that contained micro fragments that were attracted to kinetic energy. I looked like a friggen' porcupine. Hurt like a bitch." Barry chuckles, then sighs.

"We can't get to him, though... He's got people god knows where, plus..." He looks up at Wenn, apologetic look on his face.

"Plus what?" She furrows her brow.

"We...might need him in the future." Barry replies.

Wenn's eyes widen, "NO! No, you can't go in to cahoots with him! He's more evil than most of the Meta's out there! Instead of superpowers the guy has absolutely no conscience! Barry please tell me you are kidding!?"

He grabs her by the arms and rubs up and down reassuringly.

"Sometimes it is better to have allies among your enemies, especially in this world we live in now. He is a dangerous man with friends in high places. It's better to not poke the bear then get him angry and have him turn on us." Barry explains.

Wenn sighs and lets out an involuntary shudder. She knows he's right.
She knew Eiling had more 'subjects' that he experimented on. In his own twisted view of the world he feels the Metahumans are obligated to exploit their powers to the military, whatever the cost.

"If he ever becomes to much of a nuance, you can feed him to Grodd." Barry grins.

Wenn frowns, "Grodd?"

"Haven't I told you about Grodd?" Barry asks, surprised.

Wenn shakes her head.

Barry rubs the back of his neck, "Well... at one point, Wells and Eiling had a contract to explore mind reading capabilities. The used a gorilla to experiment with. Eiling treated the poor animal like he did you. Wells didn't agree with his cruel methods and booted him out..."

Wenn snorts, "Wells had a soft spot for animals? Go figure."

Barry smiles, "I know right. Anyways, Grodd was also affected by the particle accelerator explosion. He escaped and was hiding in the sewer system, or more specifically, Wells kept him there. He evolved, became smarter and yeah, actually has mind manipulating capabilities now..."

Wenn gasps, "Oh my god?! You mean there is an intelligent animal with mind-reading and mind-manipulating capabilities loose in Central City?!"

Barry nods, "Had a run in with him a couple of times. He plays on your biggest fears which leaves you crippled. Plus being slammed through a wall isn't all that pleasant either."

Talking about him makes Barry wonder where Grodd is currently hiding. Why they haven't seen him for all those months. It may be a good idea to prepare for when he does, last time they underestimated him. And there is no doubt he probably evolved even more.

"We haven't seen or heard from him in months though. But it might be a good idea to prepare for when he does. He undoubtedly got stronger and since your biggest fear is already trigger by being locked in small spaces, we'd better figure out a way to keep him out of your head." Barry tells her.

Wenn shakes it off, "Can we stop talking about Metahumans... animals and torture. I've hit my quota for today."

Barry scoots closer to her and puts his arm around her. She melts in to his side and heaves a big sigh.
She's glad she told him. It's true what they say, getting it out is like a weight is lifted from your shoulders. Maybe now she can finally start to put this behind her. 
She pulls herself even closer to Barry and smiles.

"You are amazing, you know that?" 

Barry chuckles, " I try."

Barry kisses the top of her head and grabs the remote from the side table. He turns on the TV.
After flipping through every channel and coming to the conclusion that they aren't in the mood for what Netflix has to offer they decide to turn in early.
The night had been pretty draining.
They get ready and crawl in to bed. Wenn turns her back towards Barry and scoots backwards, towards him. He warps his arms around her waist and kisses her shoulder.
Sometimes he wishes this was all there is to it. No evil people with superpowers, no running around, just peace and quiet...Holding the person you love in your arms, shutting out all the bad in the world and just emerge yourself in to your own little world, just the two of them. 
He snuggles against her with a smile and lets out a content sigh.

" Goodnight."