Absolute Zero

Blue is The New Red

Barry takes a deep breath, willing his mind to work. With the intake of oxygen is the need to run. Barry feels it in every single one of his veins. The Lightning crackles through him as he stands there, craving it's return.

His speed isn't at it's full potential, but Barry will take whatever it's got because he needs to get the hell out of there.

One moment, he's standing in the middle of the broken glass from his cell in the pipeline where he had been locked up for three days, and then in the next, he's outside of S.T.A.R labs in a flash of blue lightning.

That's right, his lightning was blue now.

Barry leans against the wall for a second, supporting himself as dizziness washes over him. He had been locked in a cage for three days and the feeling of running again was strange to him. Not to mention the fact that he hadn't eaten or drank anything in those past few days out of stubbornness.

Well. He couldn't go anywhere looking like he did right now. First off, he was in his Flash suit, which he now decided that he despised. The thing was ripped and torn from where the glass got caught during his unintentional breakout. His chestnut colored hair was dishiveled and sticking up in every direction possible. The gash on his cheek was still gushing blood.

He smirked at the thought of what the cashiers at some fast food place would think of him. He looked like he had killed a man.

Barry decides to wait until dark to get some food and water. Once fueled up, he would have the power to run again. He longed to run. His legs craved the feeling. He was the fastest man alive and no one could stop him, not even his friends and family.

Iris wakes up groggily and groans in pain.

Joe is in her face immeadiantly, asking her how she feels and crying into her hand as he holds it as tightly as possible.

"Ugh, I feel like shit." She croaks.

God, even blinking hurts. Her head is pounding and her eyesight is blurry. Caitlin raises the bed to help Iris sit up as she gives her a drink of water.

Iris winces as the pain of yesterday comes crashing back down on her. It was more emotional than physical for the most part. Hearing those lifeless words drop from Barry's mouth like ice had hurt her more than the accident. At least she was unconsious for most of that.

It already felt like an eternity since those words were said.

"Iris," Joe starts and she's really not ready for another one of his fatherly lectures yet, "what the hell were you thinking, honey?"

She looks at the people surrounding her and she suddenly feels so small. She swallows painfully, willing herself to talk.

"I–um I was just thinking..Well it was about Barry..." Iris whisperes, unsure of how to form her sentences. Her head is pounding.

"Barry?! He did this to you? I'll kill him!" Joe shouts loudly that Iris jumps in surprise. She'd never heard her father threaten murder and she certainly didn't think that he would threaten it on his own son.

Tears fill her eyes involuntarily as if she had no control over her tear ducts.

"I..." Iris didn't even know what to say.

"Joe," Caitlin says softly, "let's not upset her. She has a concussion, remember? Let's not make her think any more than she has to."

Iris is so greatful for Caitlin as she sends Iris a reassuring smile. She is always looking out for Iris in the best way possible.

Iris knew that it was hurting Caitlin too, seeing Barry like this.

It was hurting all of them.

Iris' mind aches as she thinks of perhaps confronting him again. If only she could get out of this restricting bed and talk some sense into him! Or better yet, slap it into him. Maybe Wells would open the cell just for her to give him a good smack upside the head, like she used to when they were younger and he had said something stupid.

Iris smiles at the memory, but her moment of bliss is cut off when Wells bursts into the room with a look of distress written all over his face.

His hands are shaking and in them he holds shards of broken glass, glinting red with blood.

"What happened?" Joe questions roughly.

"He's gone." Harrison Wells chokes out.

Was that fear Iris detected in his voice? Barry couldn't be so dangerous that Central City had the right to be afraid of him, could he?

Nonetheless, Iris' heartbeat speeding up could be heard across the room due to that damned monitor.

"If he gets out of hand, we may have to end this." Wells stated.

"As in?" Cisco asks shakily, kind of already knowing where Wells was going.

"As in, we kill him." Doctor Harrison Wells replies, shaking his head.

Iris' heart skips a beat and the monitor registers it, projecting her shock across the room for everyone to hear. Suddenly, all eyes are on her, each and every single one filled with worry.

"There has to be a better way." She whispers, throat feeling dry and head pounding worse than ever.

They couldn't do this.

They just couldn't.

They were his family.

She couldn't lose Barry like this. She couldn't let Zoom win.

Suddenly, Joe's phone rings loudly, making everyone in the room jump.

The tension could be cut with a knife as everyone tries to make sense of what's being said from the other line.

"Yeah, I'll be right over." Joe spits into the phone.

"What is it?" Wells asks, poking his nose into the situation like usual.

"That was Captain Singh. There was an incident at the Quik Mart. Some person said they heard screaming and saw blue lightning from inside the store." Joe says as his eyes narrow.

Barry.

Wells goes over to the counter and quickly tosses Joe a gun.

"Take this."

The two men nod at eachother as Iris gasps.

"You're going to shoot him?" She screams and regrets it as her ribs sear in pain.

"Iris, calm down. It's only a knockout dart that simulates the feeling of being shot but without all the blood." Wells chuckles at his little invention and she wants to strangle him right then and there.

Cisco puts his hand on Iris' shoulder and she looks up at him with tears filling her eyes once more.

"Don't worry, we're gonna get our Barry back. We have to." He says, a small fleck of hope lacing his voice.

"I hope so." Iris sniffles.

She feels as if she had cried enough for a lifetime.

this has got to be the most boring, short filler chapter in the history of chapters OMG I think I fell asleep writing this.