Running Back To You » Barry Allen

12

"What?" I say, irritated already by his intense stare.

"Can I ask you something..." Barry begins. "That you don't have to answer?"

I sigh and roll my eyes at the lanky man who's taking a seat at his desk and fiddling around with things, trying to look non-chalant. "If you must..."

"Your Dad, what was he like before - You know..."

I look at Barry and go over to the desk, entering the data needed into the computer opposite him. "He was amazing, the best Dad you could ever imagine." I smile and look down, not wanting to be too one with him.

"What made him so special?"

I shrug, not really knowing the answer. "He just was. He was a Mom and a Dad for me, he would go to all my meetings at school, give me talks on boys, give boys talks on me, he played both parental parts so perfectly and I could not be more lucky."

"What's changed?" Barry asks and I look up. confused at his choice of question.

"I don't know. Ever since the accelerator exploded he's been different, distant from me, closer to you. Not that it's a big deal but it's just a big jump from being so close to him becoming so guarded -" I'm cut off by the computer. I glance at the screen and frown, pressing print. "This says that there was no residue of gas in the tissue, poisonous or otherwise." I say, grabbing the copy from the printer and walking over to Barry.

"It must've evaporated..."

"Then we'll need to get a fresh sample," I add, giving Barry the copy. He scans over it and frowns. "What?" I ask and he points out what he's seen. It's my turn to frown. "Maybe it's a mistake? This says that there are two distinct strands of DNA inside the tissue," I say, getting the data up on Barry's laptop.

"How did someone else's DNA get inside the victim's lungs?" Barry asks and I stare at the data, trying my hardest to get a lead on where the DNA could've come from.

"Barry, try and find a DNA match," I suggest. "I'm gonna get a drink, you want one?"

***

I'm in line at Jitters, waiting for Barry and I's order when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and am greeted by a pair of brown eyes. "Can I help you?" I politely ask, looking at the young man standing in front of me.

"Hi, yeah, um, well, you see, I really need to be somewhere in about five minutes so I was wondering, would you be a legend and let me go first?" he asks in a deep British accent.

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. "Sorry?"

He sighs and I refrain myself from commenting on how rude that is to do in front of someone you don't know. "I need to be somewhere in fi-" he begins again.

I cut him off, "I know what you said, I just don't understand why you think I would agree to it," I explain and he raises his eyebrows, clearly irritated with my behaviour.

"I don't know, you seemed like a nice girl, pretty too, so I thought you'd understand that I need to be somewhere," he emphasises the 'need' and I smile.

"Flattery will get you nowhere..." I trail off, waiting for his name.

"Mickey."

"Well, Mickey, it was nice to meet you and I hope that you get where you need to be in time," I say, grabbing the two drinks and heading off, but not before turning around to have one last look at the tall boy. "Bit of advice for the future: Don't leave it so late," I grin and he smiles back, rolling his eyes playfully.

***

I put Barry's coffee down next to him and decide to avoid telling him about the strange British guy in Jitters.

"There's no DNA match on the database," Barry says, taking a sip of his coffee, cringing as he scalds his tongue.

"Careful, it's hot," I add, walking over next to him and looking at the screen. "But I don't understand. Why would a chemical attack leave behind another person's DNA inside the victim?"

Barry's still staring hard at the screen when realisation washes over his features. "hat if the meta-human we're looking for doesn't control gas? What if he becomes it?" My mouth opens to say something but no words come out, how could I have not figured that out? It's so obvious!

We're sitting in silence for a few seconds before it's interrupted. "All available units, we have a report of a toxic gas attack in the Central City shopping mall." Barry's radio breaks the silence, Barry standing up and heading towards the door as soon as he hears the announcement.

I follow him, "Barry, don't!" I try to stop him but he ignores me. "We don't know enough about what we're facing yet." I grab his arm to stop him from walking about manically. "It's not safe!"

He turns around and faces me, my hand still on his arm. "Evelina, I have to do this," I'm about to object further but with a rush of wind and a flash of light, he's gone.

I sigh and look around, grabbing my drink and pulling out my phone to call my S.T.A.R Labs.

I quickly walk down the stairs of CCPD with the phone pressed against my hear.

"Hello?" Someone on the other line answers.

"Caitlin, hi" I greet her. "Barry's gone after the mist stuff. We've discovered it's a meta-human that becomes mist themselves. I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen," I ramble trying to hail down a cab to get to my house.

"Okay,"Caitlin's as calm as ever. "I'll let Wells and Cisco know, come by and we'll try and figure things out," she says and I tell her I'll be there as soon as I can.

A.N: HELLO! HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY THE CHAPTER. I HAD TO ADD AT LEAST SOMEONE BRITISH IN BECAUSE I'VE GOTTA PAY HOMAGE TO MY COUNTY U FEEL. DONT EVEN TALK ABOUT THE EU REFERENDUM BC YES I VOTED TO STAY AND NO WE DIDNT SO I DONT WANNA TALK ABOUT IT. MICKEY IS PLAYED BY ALEXANDER ARNOLD WHO IS AN INCREDIBLE ACTOR SO GO CHECK HIM OUT!