Spidey & Speedy - Starling City Storm

Chapter 8 - She Could've Been A Killer

***BARRY***

"Um..." I'm not sure how to respond to this. "Well, first off, ew. Second off, does he seriously think this is even possible?"

"He's going for it, isn't he?" Constantine asks. "And I know one thing about Darhk - he's batshit crazy, but he's no fool. If he can do it, he'll get it done."

"Just like he got the explosion done?" asks Ray through Felicity's phone. I'm afraid to ask how much longer she intends to keep that line open, because sooner or later, she'll run out of battery power and have to plug the phone in. "Assuming that was this Darhk fellow's doing too, of course."

"We can't leave anything to chance as long as he's involved," says Constantine. He turns the page, then closes the book completely. "Don't put anything past Damien Darhk, that's what I always say."

"Since when?" asks Ollie.

"Since today."

I stare out a rain-lashed window for what seems like the umpteenth time in the last twelve hours. While I watch the irregular, chaotic patterns the water leaves behind as it streaks down the glass, a bizarre thought comes to mind. Automatically, I try to banish it, but it refuses to go away until I voice it to Constantine and everyone else. "Would Malcolm know about this?" I ask. "And...and is that why he's freezing the lake?"

"You mean, is that his way of trying to stop Darhk before he can put his plan into action?" asks Grayson.

"Sounds drastic," Gwen comments.

"Just like you won't put anything past Darhk" - Constantine grins at Ollie's words - "I won't put anything past Malcolm. He's not to be trusted at all." With that, his phone rings - and I notice that the ringtone is "But There's Wolves?" "Hi, Thea," he says. "Whatever you've got, let's make this fast. I forgot to silence my phone before coming to the library, so I'm pretty sure the library police will be coming after me and my friends any second." He laughs out loud, then says, "No, seriously. I'm. In. The. Library. Is that really so hard for you to believe?"

I stifle a laugh as Ollie stalks off into the stacks to keep on talking to Thea. When he comes back, he says, "She's at Lake Dante as we speak. And guess who's freezing the lake up again?"

"Damn his guts," Felicity groans.

"But if he's really doing this for the purpose I think he is..." My voice trails off.

"Well, sure, it's gonna have some negative effects, but the benefits would outweigh them, to an extent," says Peter. "Right?"

"I dunno," Olivia says. She jerks her thumb at the window. "I don't think this much rain is healthy for anyone. Even by Other Rainforest standards."

"No, it's not," says Ray. "Especially not for me. Speaking of which, someone's gonna need to stick me in some waterproof pocket if you're gonna go outside in this weather, okay?"

"We're all good for those," I say. "Some more so than others." I direct that last part to Constantine's trenchcoat.

Constantine, for his part, stretches out his hand, and Ollie (who's been holding Ray this whole time, I guess) hands our micro-man friend to him. "Don't mind me," Ray says. "Just think of it as some wild new adv...oh wow," he says as Constantine sticks him in his pocket and closes it. "Why do you have a big-ass feather rolled up in here?"

"That's no feather, it's a back scratcher," Constantine laughs. "You're not allergic, are you? I could move you to my other pocket...on second thought, better not." He pats that other pocket, and says, "Oh no, I didn't bring my Corto Maltese catnip with me. Then it should be safe."