Flashette(Book Three)

5

"Okay, one more," I protested. I had been at a Mexican restaurant with Barry and it was an all you can eat taco day.
"One more and you're gonna explode!" said Barry.
"I am eating for two now. Besides, tacos are my favorite food ever! If I had a dollar for every taco I've eaten, we'd be living in a mansion.....maybe 5..."
"Very funny!."
"Not as funny as our new Wells. You'd think we'd ever find one with a sense of humor like that. Making jokes about everything.....it just seems.....odd........Please, call me HR..." I said putting my hands together and bowing my head.
"So you don't like him?" Barry asked as I took a bite of my taco.
"It's not that I don't like him, but it's something about him....I don't know...."
"Relax," Barry said placing his hand on mine. "I know we've had our Wells troubles, but you can't stop trusting everybody or giving them chances....."
"True that," I said with a mouth full of taco. Bits went everywhere and I was really hoping that no one was watching. I then looked up at Barry. He had a piece of lettuce stuck to his cheek. "Sorry," I said before flicking it off and smiling.
"You're lucky you're cute....C'mon, we're gonna be late for work," Barry said before I finished my taco and went up to the front to pay. I might have taken 50 tacos to go......
"Sumptuous Day!" HR called as we walked into the cortex. He lifted up two sheets, revealing bagels and some type of spread. "No...on this earth, I believe you say-"
"Good morning," Cisco finished.
"Yes! And it is indeed," HR said tapping his toes to the music that was playing. "Let me just say that the music you have on this earth...it's extraordinary.... While it strikes a chord, no pun intended- please help yourself," HR said motioning to the food. I believe that a crew works best when it's well fed and well rested....especially when you're harboring another," he said motioning to me. I looked over at Barry, before looking at my small and barely noticeable bump.
"Are those coffees for us?" Iris asked.
"Yup....I took the initiative to look through all your ledgers. A lot of information to explore and a lot of interesting things to learn about you....lets see how I did," HR said waking over to Iris with a Cofee cup. "Skim Milk, Chai Latte for you," he said handing it to her. She smiled and took the cup. "An iced Americano with 2...no.....3 shots of espresso," he said circling around Wally before handing him the cup. "There you go Walter," he said patting Wally's back.
"Actually, it's Wal-"
"And for my Fleet Of Foot Friend.......you'd best stick to decaf," he said handing Barry the cup. Barry took it in his hands with a chuckle, and I watched as Harry returned with a cup for me.
"And for the lady and her plus one, a frozen hot chocolate with whipped cream, mocha swirl, and rainbow sprinkles." I took the cup and sipped it with a smile. "Thank you!."
"And...San Fracisco," HR said in an accent. "I have prepared a lovely French roast...with...just a touch...of creamer..."
"Thank you....so much...." Cisco said taking the cup.
"On my earth, Cofee was wiped out by blight. That's one reason to stay on this earth. Just the Cofee alone."
"If you stay-"
"Yes, if I stay. Time is of the essence here. I have created a series of team building activities. We'll split into two groups and there's clues all over the facility that will-"
"I'm not feeling this," said Cisco. "And it's not the roast, the roast is great. But...our trust here is something that cannot be built with games. We're talking years of wins and losses. It's been forged in fire, sometimes literally. Just step back and observe. See what we do here and how we operate. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Speaking of our team, where's Caitlin?" I asked.
"Oh...we talked this morning and she drank a triple shot latte. But she left you a message..." HR said walking over to the machine. He tried to push what buttons he thought were right, but it didn't work. "It's much different on my earth......here it is," he said pressing the button
Hey, it's me. I've got some business I need to take care of. I shouldn't be gone long, maybe a few days. I'm sure you can get along without me. And Cisco, stay out of my pizza pockets.
"No label," Cisco said putting down the half eaten pizza pocket in his hand.
"I just remembered, Captain...CCPD....Julian....we have to go...." I said before we said goodbye to HR and the team.
"Until next communion," HR yelled out the door. Barry and I kept running and made our way to CCPD.
We anxiously waited for the ok to enter when we knocked on Captain Singh's door.
"Come in," he said before we opened the door to him leaning against his desk. Julian was in the office as well.
"Sorry, we had to meet somebody-"
"Add tardiness to the list Captain."
"Allens...it's been brought to my attention that you've been giving yourself unauthorized access to your coworkers case files."
"Excuse me?" I asked.
"Along with multiple repeated absences, phone calls throughout the day, guests in the lab, too many breaks, leaving early.....the list goes on and on," Julian said.
"With all do respect, we do our jobs here," Barry cut in.
"You do good work here, Allen. Don't put that in jeopardy by thinking that rules don't apply to you. Understood?"
"Understood..." Barry and I said in unison. Captain then went behind his desk and took a seat. Julian shot up from his seat.
"That's it? They made many violations of your rules and they get a 15 second talk? Must be nice....." Juilan said shooting a glare in our direction before walking out of the office.
"Playing the taddle tale card now?" I asked Julian as he walked down the corridor. He turned around:
"It was silly of me to think that rules applied to the golden couple of CCPD's crime lab," Julian said before walking away. Joe was coming down the corridor and Julian greeted him.
"He's unbelievable. He's truly out to get us. Everything we do is-"
"Look. I wish you guys could be a little less oil and water and and more like oil and vinegar. It's been a year and you've been at each others throats."
"From our perspective it's been two weeks."
"So you're saying that before two weeks you weren't Julian's enemy?"
"I'm saying that until two weeks ago, Julian didn't even exist."
"Because of Flashpoint."
"I know it's because of Flashpoint," I said taking my phone out of my pocket. "Cisco..." I said before answering the call.
"Cisco, is this important?" I asked.
"Does 30 hits downtown on the Metahuman app count?" He asked.
"What are we looking at?"
"Nothing really. Every traffic cam in a 10 block radius is down. We're flying blind. The hits are all over the map."
"There's one way to see what's going on........" I said before hanging up and tapping Barry's shoulder. I then sped off and Barry followed.
"All the chatter's coming from the lower district," Cisco said through the earpiece.
"We're here. It's a crazy scene. People are running everywhere, car alarms blaring....."
"You should be right ontop of it Chlo, what is it?"
"It's a...........monster.......Guys, did you here me?" I asked.
"There's a monster in Central City," Barry repeated.
"What are we talking? Yao Ming sized, or Andre The Giant?" Cisco asked.
"No....it's like an actual monster," I said before a pole came came down on a fleeing bus. I ran to the scene to open the doors, and I saw someone I wasn't expecting.
"Iris? What are you doing here?" I asked as she tugged on the trapped door.
"Working on a story. Last I checked, you don't need a suit and super powers to help people," she said before We got the door open.
"Get outta here. We have to try to stop that thing," I said before we sped off. Barry and I sped to the heart of town and looked for it.
"Where'd it go?" I asked.
"We lost it too," Cisco said. "Wait.....we got him. Head North 3 blocks....." Cisco said before we ran to the location. "I lost him...." Cisco said.
"Us too," I said looking around for him. Giving up, we sped back to S.T.A.R Labs.
"I don't get it. Every Metahuman we've encountered has exactly been a meta-human. Exactly that......where did this come from?"
"He vanished. That's all we know."
"In my experience, things are always different than they appear. There must be a reason....the darn thing can't just disappear.....maybe it has some cloaking mechanism," HR said.
"Good idea, but now I would guess in the ballpark of Alchemy....How do we stop it?" I asked.
"I don't know, I don't have some kind of magic missile."
"We could-wait....i'm just here to observe," HR said putting his hands up.
"Please, help us out."
"On my earth, we had ropes made of Carbon Fiber. Ultra light, but strong enough to pull a battleship. We can restrain it with that. Right? What do you think?" HR asked.
"Okay....it's worth a shot. We can make it in the workshop."
"And another thing....a transformer exploded on its own. The monster wasn't around, and he didn't even lay a finger on it."
"Reminds me of the Hitchcock movie where the extra covers his ears before the gun goes off," Cisco said.
"Brilliant! Murder on the titanic! We're drowning.....the beast must have hit some kind of electrical pulse."
"Well the whole block is a crime scene and Julian is in charge of it."
"That's the CSI guy you don't like, right?" HR asked.
"Right," I said exiting the cortex with Barry.
"Hi Julian," I said quietly as I walked over to my desk in the lab. He looked my way and spoke:
"Have you seen this?" He asked, pointing to the TV. Bad enough, there's plenty of things destroying the city and now we have this thing to worry about......Is there any point in me asking where you've been for the last hour? Or should I just assume that the rules don't apply to you."
"I was...ummm.....look, I know we've kinda gotten on the wrong foot...and we'll take that as our fault, but we don't want things to be like that anymore. We'd like it if things changed."
"It's funny because I remember you saying something similar to that before you stole the case file. Do you know how hard it is to work with someone who has no disregards for the rules? You're contaminating my work."
"That's exactly why we...want to learn from you. When we read your reports, it's clear that your evidence techniques are far more superior to ours."
"Go on...."
"If we could just shadow you for a day, maybe ask questions, I think that you could help bring our skills up to your level. Whataya say?" Barry asked.
"Sorry...." Julian said walking out of the lab, briefcase in hand.
"What if we gave up the lab? There's a store room downstairs that we can convert, so if you let us follow you on this case, the lab's all yours."
"Lab's mine........deal......." He said before he walked out. Barry and I decided to talk while he was out.
"Well, at least he hates meta humans a little more than he hates us."
"Well, from his perspective.....maybe he has a reason to dislike both of us that he doesn't know anything about."
"A Joeism? Really?" Barry asked.
"Sometimes he's right....sometimes he's not....Speaking of not being right, he was talking to DA downstairs and cancelled another date with her. He's totally into her....I don't know what's holding him back," I said before I looked at my phone. It was a text from Juilian:
"Meet me at second and fullon ASAP" it read.
"Duty calls," I said before I showed Barry and we were off.
"Whataya got?" I asked waking to the scene. Julian was examining some evidence.
"You guys got here quick....that was bit unexpected......"
"Yeah....Crazy Uber driver."
"The scoring on the insulation suggests a power surge."
"So this was a coincidence...."
"Highly doubt it..but I'll figure it out. Someone in this city has to do something about these meta's."
"Well, you have a whole police force working with you-"
"No, we have The Flashes..because of them, the whole police department has got lethargic. Why do any work at all if they're gonna save the day every time."
"I think they're more of an inspiration to the city....provides hope......." I said as Julian was hesitant. "What? Do you see something?"
"A pattern. The creatures movements, they seem....random at first but were contained in the described area. Like the creature was...stuck in an invisible fence...."
"Traffic cams were down, maybe it was being watched or controlled by somebody that needed to keep it in visual range the whole time...."
"Constricting the creatures movements to the line of sight.....that actually makes sense....Maybe there's a brain in there after all......" Julian said before his cop car alarm went off. There again, was the monster walking towards us. Julian dialed CCPD:
"This is Albert, I'm requesting immediate backup," he said as we walked over to an overhang.
"Maybe we should split up and- Whoa!" I commented as Julian pulled a gun out of his pocket.
"Don't worry, I have four years of training in the military."
"Since when do CSI's carry a gun?" I asked.
"Since there were monsters in our city," Julian commented before he fired the gun. Another transformer blew and a nearby sign was coming down.
I then lunged at Barry and Julian and pushed them out of the way.
By the time we had recovered, the monster was gone without a trace.
"Every time there's been a sighting, multiple transformers have been blown."
"So it feeds off electricity...."
"But we mapped out all the streets that it's been spotted on and it never leaves a 10 block radius."
"This is what I'm talking about. A meta has been given a very special power and this is what thy do with it. Terrorize the city....it's pathetic."
"Why do you hate meta's so much?" I asked Julian.
"If you think I'm gonna break down infront of you because one killed my parents, I'm not. I don't need a deep, personal reason for hating them. I just need to see person after person who are given these perfect abilities be squandered. Robbing banks....hurting people....spreading fear.....it's just...it's not just a crime.....it's an absolute waste. Can you imagine what it would be like to have those powers. I'd be helping people...I'd be helping the world. But I guess I wasn't one of the chosen few was I."
"So you're mad at them because you weren't chosen. It's not as easy as you think. Having their lives change....no one of us can possibly imagine...it's gotta take some adjusting."
"So now you're defending them? This internship thing....it's over...." Julian said standing up and walking over to his desk.
"Whatever," I said taking Barry out of the lab.
"Transformers. That's the root cause. Everywhere the monster goes, a transformer explodes....car alarm malfunctions....What is the connection?" Cisco hesitated:
"What if someone's using the transformers to power the monster? We would need to check a surge in the power grid. It could also be broadcast power."
"Maybe a portable tower...."
"Yes...a portable tower...you beat me to it. Now, I'm gonna get Cofee. On my earth, it was wiped out by-"
"Blight-"
"Until next communion!" HR said as he walked out the door.
"He didn't do anything, did he?"
"No. He's just reiterating everything we say."
"Well we're not gonna be caught off guard again by another Wells. You need to Vibe him." Cisco nodded. After that, he was off. Barry and I followed Cisco downstairs:
"What are you do-you can just go through his stuff like that."
"I'm not I'm just-See, this is what I'm taking about. What even is this?" Cisco said holding up a pen looking device. He clicked down on it and it began to play.
"Now I seem to have most of the teams trust, except FranCisco's," it played before HR walked in.
"Those are my things. What are you doing?" He asked getting closer to Cisco.
"What are you doing?"
"What?"
"Who are you really? I know you're hiding something."
"You've been burned twice by a man with the same face as me, I imagine it's hard to trust after something like that."
"You think?"
"I do think. So, please listen to the rest of it." Cisco played it:
I can't see why FranCisco feels the way he feels about me. I hope I can change his appeal of Harrison Wells and the two of us can rebuild that friendship into a novel.
"What novel?" I asked.
"I'm writing a novel. "Narrative" stories from the life and times of HR Wells....Catchy? I know.
"You're a scientist and a novelist?"
"Yes! That's exactly right. I own S.T.A.R Labs and am a bestselling author of science romance. What better opportunity than to come to another earth and write another bestseller about my adventures."
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"I didn't think it was relevant. And I didn't think you'd go through my stuff. Is trust not something you have on this earth?"
"Trust?," Caitlin asked, coming into the workshop. Harry jumped. "Trust who?" She asked. She was interrupted by the Metahuman app alarm. We all took out our phones.
"The monster, he's back."
"Monster?" Caitlin asked.
"You've missed a lot. We'll explain."
"I'll stay here," Harry said.
"Come on....we need you," I said slinging my arm over HR's shoulder and catching up with the rest of the team. We then went over a plan and I took the rope before we ran off.
"Tell us everything you see in this very moment...." HR said through the earpiece.
"Mayhem and the monster.....guys....."
"We're gonna do Empire Strikes Back....."
"Here we go........I always wanted to be a Jedi....." I said before Barry took one end of the rope and we sped around the monster's feet.
We stood back and watched proudly of our work, before the monster phased through it. I watched in amazement.
"It's not a monster....it's a hologram..." and with that, it disappeared.
"That explains everything."
"CCPD just sent snipers there. If they shoot at it, they'll go right through it. We need to disrupt the signal before someone gets hurt."
"On it....." HR said going to the computer. I could hear Cisco go back and forth about how HR is a fake, and I totally saw it coming.
"Guys, we don't have much time....."
"Got it, second and Fulton," Cisco said before we sped to it. Cop cars and snipers were at the scene.
"I have a lock on the target," one of the snipers said. "Fire when ready....." And with that, a bullet came out of his gun and came at the monster. I watched it happen in slow motion and it passed right through the monster's arm. I then sped over and caught the bullet infront a bystander before it hit her.
"STOP! STOP FIRING! It's a hologram," Barry yelled before it disappeared. Everyone watched in amazement as the monster disappeared before their eyes.
"Detective West, where's Julian?" I asked.
"He was here," Joe replied.
"I need that location Cisco."
"Hamilton building, 25th floor. There's more power going there than anywhere else in the building combined." I sped to the location and Barry stayed back to look for further evidence.
My timing wss perfect. I pulled the monster's controller out of his chair and moved him out of the way of Julian's upcoming bullet.
"You're just a kid."
"Yeah, a kid you almost killed. You're gonna pay for that!"
"You're the one whose gonna pay for all the damage you did to the city....for a very long time...." I said with my disguised voice. I handed him over to Julian.
"Thanks Flashette."
"You're welcome," I said with a smile before I sped away. I entered S.T.A.R Labs as a debate with HR was going on.
"You were entrepreneur of the decade by tech magazine....is any of this true?" Cisco asked HR as he pointed to the screen.
"All of it."
"How? You can't even turn on a computer," I chimed in.
"There are two parts to every idea: the inception and the execution. I provide the former."
"So you come up with the ideas?"
"Yes."
"So you didn't crack the encryptogram?"
"No, that was my partner at S.T.A.R Labs. On my earth, I'm the face of the company. Eventually I was exposed. Everything fell apart for me. But I got your message and I took it as an opportunity.
"Out of all the Wells in the multiverse, we pick the one whose not a scientist."
"I wasn't completely honest with all of you and I should have been. But tell me, has there ever been a time where you have shaded the truth for the greater good?"
"Sounds to me like you're a con man..." Wally said.
"Really? Would a con man come up with the idea to track the beast using car alarms? Would a con man show Cisco how to fasten rope using Carbon Fiber."
"I came up with those ideas."
"And you were prompted by my suggestions. That is how ideas work people. You need a muse.....I can be your muse. Let me prove my worth to you."
".....You can stay for a few more weeks....just no more repackaging." The team left and it was just Caitlin and I:
"Where have you been?" I asked her.
"I saw my mom. I think we've worked out some of our differences."
"Glad you're back," I said to her. "Cherish it now, because there might be a time when they're gone too soon," I said patting her shoulder and catching up with Barry.
He had been in the storage room at CCPD, getting a box to collect his stuff. I helped him and walked up to the lab.
"I nearly killed a kid tonight," Julian said as he leaned against is desk. "The monster we were chasing was a hologram....operated by a 15 year old boy. But Flashette was there to save the day...That kid did what he did because he was scared. He wanted everyone to be terrified so they would run away and he could be powerful. I know what that's like."
"What do you mean?"
"I came from a wealthy English family. A long line of tradition....I was the heir. But I was the odd duck. I would rather go in the garden to collect samples of insects. Choosing what silverware to use at dinner or what knot to tie was the least of my worries. I wanted more. I came here to do what I wouldn't have been allowed to do....become a scientist.....a great one......and as soon as I get ontop of my field, the world changes. Meta humans. I don't know a single thing about them.......and I feel powerless...."
"We lost our parents and it's a scary world. People come and they go. Trust or be trade, things change. Change can be a good thing. You just have to trust that everything's gonna be okay."
"Maybe you're right," he said walking over to the box of stuff I collected. "You can stay. I was wrong about The Flashes....I could be wrong about you too...."
"Do you wanna go out for a drink?" Barry asked Julian.
"I can't, so I'm just gonna stay home......" I said. Barry gave me a kiss.
"I'd like that," Julian said with a half smile.
"I'll be back soon. Get out all your books and brochures....We've got a wedding to plan."
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CHAPTER 5 IS HERE!!!! THE CHARRY ALLEN WEDDING IS COMING!!!!!!! Baby names are in the works as well......Many big and exciting things are coming! I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you in the next chapter! Shorts are in the works as well!! -Flashette1

Current Song Playing- "Over And Over" by "Three days Grace"

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