Monster

Oops

"Heightened brain activity, even in an unconscious state... Interesting." A female voice thinks. The thought doesn't feel threatening, but genuinely curious.

Another thought pops into my head: "If I reroute this back over here, and--wallah!" Male this time, again, not threatening. I don't think I'm in danger here, which is a relief.

My eyelids flutter open and I take in my surroundings. Grey walls, white shelves lined with various medicines. Heart monitor and I.V. drip to my right. A doorway slightly to my left that leads out to a larger room with a desk in the center adorned with computers, one of which the man I heard is working on. I turn my head to see the woman looking at what I can only assume are my brain scans.

I sit up, which garners the woman's attention. She moves towards me with a smile hinting at her lips, very pleasant thoughts run through her head. She thinks I'm a hero.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Caitlin Snow. Do you know what happened to you?" The doctor speaks slowly and clearly.

"I was trying to protect a woman from this awful man, and I let his anger seep into me. I didn't hurt him too bad, did I?" Dr. Snow shakes her head.

"No, you gave him the equivalent of a punch to the nose and a bad migraine. Any longer and it could've been worse, but we can talk about that later. What's your name?"

"Camilla. Camilla Flynn. Thanks for patching me up, Doctor." I give her a slight smile as she walks over to check the I.V., "I'm not a hero, though. I did what anyone would have done. The Flash is a hero. I'm just a woman who doesn't like bullies."

"How did you know I thought you were a hero?" Caitlin asks, raising her brow.

"That's half of my power. I read thoughts. Sounds crazy saying that out loud, but if the Flash trusts you, I can too." She looks at me funny. "When he picked me up in the courtyard, he thought about how you were going to kill him. Would've been funny if I wasn't having a mild seizure."

She chuckles to herself. I hear another persons thoughts: "Captain's gonna kill me if I don't get those samples tested soon. Thank god for super speed..." 

"I think he's here, actually." I glance towards the doorway and Caitlin's eyes widen.

"Flash, the patient is awake. Maybe you'd like to say hello?" She announces, almost as a warning rather than a true suggestion.

"Be there in a second!" I hear The Flash's voice and see his red streak move into the main room just outside the infirmary.

"For pete's sake, Barry, be more careful!" The computer man thinks and gives a playfully disapproving look to the scarlet speedster. Barry, huh? Looks like everyone on Team Flash needs to be more careful.

Flash walks in slowly, he doesn't want to alarm me, he thinks. He gives an awkward wave.

"You're not going to alarm me." I give him a soft smile. He cocks his head.

"She reads thoughts." Caitlin answers his unasked question.

"Cool. Can you hear this right now?" He asks.

"Yes, but I would prefer if you would just speak." I chuckle. The Flash nods at me and finishes making his way to my bedside.

"Thank you for taking me here instead of the hospital. I'm not ready for the world to know I'm a meta. Dr. Snow has taken great care of me," I beam, "And I know you took a great risk in bringing me here."

"It's no problem. What you did was really heroic. I'm just sorry I don't get there before he socked you in the eye." His gloved hand gently touches my black eye.

I shrug, "I did what anyone else would've, had they heard this man's thoughts. I'm just glad I didn't pass out before making it to that apartment complex. There were so many voices, it got overwhelming."

"Can you control whose thoughts you listen to, or how many you can hear at a time?" Caitlin asks.

"No. I had to quit my job because I was bombarded by thoughts every time I left my house. I can hear everything within about 500ft of me. I even have to blast music in my apartment to drown them out somewhat. Sometimes the voices get overwhelming. Though, I only hear three voices now, meaning we're in the middle of nowhere, or we're underground." Caitlin and Flash look at each other.

"Whatever it is, you might as well tell me. I'll end up knowing momentarily anyway." I raise my brow at the duo.

"We're underground, yes, at S.T.A.R Labs." Caitlin recites.

"I thought this place went down with the particle accelerator?"

"Not exactly," the Flash states.

I shift in the bed, suddenly becoming a little nauseous. This is where it all began. I've suffered for months because of this place. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

"Camilla, are you ok?" The scarlet speedster looks at me with growing concern.

"Yeah, fine. Just had a bit of a long day."

"Bank robbery in progress? Ooh, Barry's gonna love that." The computer man's voice rings clear in my head.

"You have to go, actually." I wink at Flash just as computer man pipes up:

"Flash, there's a robbery in progress over on Main and 24th."

Caitlin moves from the foot of the bed to opposite Flash and they exchange one more look. He smiles at me and turns to run out the door.

"Hey, Barry?" I start.

The Flash turns back towards me and looks at me with questioning eyes before realizing his mistake.

"Thanks again." I try to hide the grin I feel starting to form.

Caitlin brings her hand to her face, holding the bridge of her nose between her fingertips.

"Go," she says, "I'll deal with this." With that, Barry's gone in a red blur.

"How'd you know?" She asks me point blank.

"Mr. Computer man out there. He thought it. Twice."

"Cisco!" She yells, though I'm 100% sure he's been able to hear us this whole time.

"Oops!" Cisco returns.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I know how necessary it is to hide certain aspects of yourself. I wouldn't be here if I didn't." Caitlin checks the drip bags connected to my I.V. and sighs.

"Thank you. Fla- I mean, Barry will appreciate that."