Running to Stand Still [COMPANION TO HERO]

Why Me?

Barry's POV

I sighed as I looked at my watch. I was late to work. Again. Of course, I could travel many other ways than a taxi that could be faster... A lot faster. I looked out the window and watched the buildings whiz by. The blue 'Q' of Queen Consolidated and the logo of Stagg industries caught my eye. I looked at the gray interior of the taxi and ran my fingers nervously along the leather seam. I sighed again as I ran my fingers through my dark toffee colored hair.
"Stop here, please!" I called to the taxi driver. As I thanked her and paid, I saw Joe running towards me.
"Barry," he looked at me, his eyes grim, "we've got a problem."
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TIME SKIP
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"So, you're telling me that Zoom is now sending civilians through the breaches?" I asked Joe while groaning internally.
"Unfortunately, it gets worse. Zoom seems to have wiped their memory somehow," Joe said, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"They have no idea who they are and what they're doing?" I asked.
"Pretty much," he replied.
"Oh, man, this is going to be a long week."
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TIME SKIP
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We raced to S.T.A.R. Labs as fast as we could. I was there within a couple seconds. Joe was in 15 minutes.
"Guys, we have a new problem," I addressed the team.
"Yeah, we know," Cisco replied, sticking a lollipop in his mouth.
"What are we supposed to do?" I asked. Just then, Caitlin walked into the room with a grin on her face.
"I have an idea," she told us. We all turned towards her and listened carefully as she explained.
"They are all coming out of different breaches, but we may be able to find a pattern."
"Good idea, I'll start trying to find one," Cisco said, rushing to the computer and typing furiously.
I looked at all of my friends. We were a team, but we were more than that. We were a family. I still get nightmares about the wormhole. I haven't told them yet. I think they know that something is off about me, though. They haven't pushed it, which I'm thankful for. There are some problems that need to stay private.
"Guys, I found something!" Cisco shouted, jarring me out of my thoughts.
"Great Cisco, what'd you find?" Joe asked.
"Okay, so they all happen between twelve and two in the afternoon. They also happen to be in areas where there are a lot of people for some reason," Cisco explained.
"Great. Maybe we can all watch the breaches in the middle of Central City from 11:30 to 2:30?" I suggested.
"Wait, we don't have enough people, though," I said, thinking of all the breaches in the heart of the city. My spirits sank.
"Good thing you have us, then!" I heard a familiar voice behind me say.
"Oliver!" I said and pivoted to face him. I smiled happily. It was good to see him and the team. I knew they had had some weird stuff going on.
"Hey, guys!" Felicity said, coming up to hug me.
"What are you guys doing in Central City?" Cisco asked after greetings had been exchanged.
"Well, we needed some time to get our minds off of the things happening in Star City," Felicity said, rather quietly.
We were all silent for a minute.
"So, you'll help us with this?" Caitlin asked hopefully.
"What else would we do?" Diggle asked and shrugged.
"Awesome!" I exclaimed and smiled.
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TIME SKIP
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"Is everyone in position?" I asked through the comm. I wasn't in my super suit. No one was. We were trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.
I heard choruses of affirmation in my ear.
I grinned.
'So far, this is working. Plan Pattern is a go,' I thought.
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Hello fellow homo sapiens!! Jayde here. How do you guys feel about this? I'm feeling pretty good. PLEASE don't forget to leave feedback and to vote! I really appreciate it. As always, updates will be about once every week.

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