Frostbite: A Flash Fanfiction

Frostbite

"Barry, are you finally going to tell me?" Iris asked me. "About what's going on?"
"Uh," I said, sweating. "Yeah."
She raised her eyebrows as if to say "go on."
I told her to come to CC Jitters, so I could tell her about my metahuman-ness but I couldn't bring myself to tell her. The lights were blinding and it smelled strongly like coffee.
"So, uh-" I started, but I was interrupted by Cisco. He had installed a headset in my jacket. I'm not really sure why, but it's worked.
"Barry! Come to Star Labs right now!"
"Sorry, Iris," I said quickly. "I have to go."
"Barry!" She called to me.
I had already left.
I raced across town to get to Star Labs. Everything became a blur as I sprinted past it, and I could hardly feel my legs.  Cars were beeping and the air was cool and fresh. I saw the building, so I screeched to a stop. This caused some sparks on my shirt which I patted out. I walked slowly inside. Monitors were beeping. The TV was replaying something taken from a security camera in black and white, over and over.
"Okay, I'm here," I told Doctor Wells. "What is it?  "
He turned to me gravely. "There's someone that tried to break in."
"What?" I stared at him astonished. "In here?"
"Here."
"Here here?"
"Yes. Where else?"
"Well, what happened?"
He turned to the monitor.
"He broke in at 3:30 AM," he told me. "He simply touched the wall. It turned to ice, and he shattered it."
"So this guy," I hesitated. "Can turn stuff to ice? By touching it?!"
"Yup!" Cisco broke in. "We're calling him 'Frostbite.'"
Caitlin glared at him. "You are calling him 'Frostbite.'"
Doctor Wells cleared his throat. "Regardless, he could steal all of our work. The sheer amount of things he could do with our research is frankly quite terrifying."
I nodded, not taking my eyes off Wells. "So you want me to apprehend him?"
He watched the corner of the room and addressed me. "Last night, he fled when he saw me working. That was a fluke; I never stay up that late. The wall, unfortunately, did not rebuild itself after he destroyed it. Catch Frostbite if he tries again. I have your headset connected to the security system. If it ever goes off, you'll hear it. Come as fast as you can."
"Got it," I said, nodding.
"As much of a bad guy this dude is," Cisco said smiling. "His powers are pretty cool."
Caitlin rolled her eyes at Cisco which made him laugh.
"Good luck," I said, and darted back home.

I opened the door, where Joe was waiting for me.
"Today one of the officers told me about a man being jumped on by another man, but he suddenly turned into ice, and the victim managed to get away," Joe glared at me suspiciously. "I'm guessing this is your department?"
"Yeah," I assured him. "He seems to be focused on breaking into Star Labs."
    "And you're going to do what?"
"Next time he tries to break into Star Labs," I smacked my fist against my palm. "I'll be alerted, and I'll catch him."
"Uh huh," he said raising his eyebrow. "Good luck with that."
"Thanks."
I sat on my bed and put my hands on my head. What am I going to do once I catch him? Kill him? Capture him? Is he even going to appear? What if I get turned to ice? I allowed these thoughts to swirl around in my head until I fall asleep.

I was abruptly awoken by an alarm blasting in my headset. I sat up immediately and raced as fast as I could to the lab.
"Damn it!" I exclaimed as my t-shirt dissolved in flames. I just realized I had come in shorts.
I heard a piercing shattering noise. I scanned the area. It was dark outside, with little wind. Near the expansive metal walls, I found a man punching them. The now-ice walls shattered into a million pieces and rained down on him. I sped over to him and knocked him to the ground. I unzipped his gray mask. He had a very rectangular face with a sturdy jaw line and smelled of cigarettes. He broke into a toothy grin.
"Ah," he said smiling, gaze steady. "Who might you be?"
"My name's Barry." I paused. "Why are you here?"
He smiled even wider. "To destroy this place."
"What?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "Sorry for what we did, but it can't be that bad.
His smile faded. "They gave me this."
He reached out to me, index finger extended. I instinctively recoiled and scrambled away. He chuckled and stood back up.
"So you know about me, huh," he said. "I know I'm a freak."
"No. I mean, y- I mean," I stuttered. "We can talk."
"No," he sighed. "I need to do this."
He turned around and proceeded to touch another wall.
"Stop!" I shouted and tried to tackle him to the ground again. He stepped away and jabbed his index finger at me. I stumbled back and ran behind him. I knocked into him with the weight of my shoulder. He grunted and fell to the ground. I held his wrists down.
"So you're doing this because we gave you cool superpowers?" I asked. "Are you crazy?!"
His wrist broke free of my grip. He quickly reached up and tapped his index finger on my nose. I stared at him in shock. From the point that he touched me, ice spread all over my body, slowly but surely.
"No please!" I said, as I went under the ice.
I could still see and hear everything, I just couldn't move or say anything.
"They took everything," he said, eye twitching. "My wife. My children. Turned to ice then shattered. I can't eat. I can't even use my phone."
He stared at me. "This is not a 'cool superpower,'" he hissed. "This is a curse. You took everything from me. Now I'll take everything from you.
He walked off into the building, and I blacked out.

"Barry?"
"Barry what happened?"
I opened my eyes to see the sun shining in my face and lying in a puddle of water.
"Did you get frozen?" Cisco asks. "Then you melted?"
"You're okay, right?" Caitlin says worryingly.
Caitlin, Cisco, and Dr. Wells surrounded me, kneeling on the ground. I sit up and rub my eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said waving off their concerns. "What happened to Frostbite?"
Doctor Wells looked behind him into the building before answering. He looked disappointed. I hated that look.
"He went into one of our rooms, turned everything to ice, then shattered it," Doctor Wells explains. "Luckily, a majority of our work was not turned to ice."
"I'm so sorry guys," I apologize. "I messed up so much."
"We a lot of our work," he tells me, voice quiet and eyes fixed on me. "You could really do better."
"And also, he broke in at exactly 3:30 A.M. both times, so you'll know when to catch him next," Cisco added.
I nodded, determined to get Frostbite this time.

"Okay Barry, get ready," Cisco whispered in my headset. "He should be coming any minute now."
I checked my watch. It read 3:28.
"Are you sure he's going to show up at 3:30?"
"I'm positive. He's done it twice, he's doing it again," assured Cisco
"Third time's the charm," I muttered.
"We've got cool stuff this time," Cisco said. "Do you remember how to work the handcuffs?"
They aren't actually handcuffs, but when you inject the piece of metal using the plunger in the victim's skin, their wrists are attracted to each other due to a strong magnetic field.
"Yeah," I said.
I checked my watch again. 3:31. The cool breeze wafted through the area as I looked for any sign of Frostbite.
"Any minute now," Cisco mumbled. "Aaaany minute."
I heard a small rustling behind me. I looked over at it.
"Cisco..."
"Yeah?"
Frostbite jumped out at me, fingers extended. I sped to the left as he hit the ground. He started to get up, but I tackled him down to the ground at supersonic speeds, making him dizzy.
"Please. Don't," he muttered.
"Sorry man," I said. "Can't mess with us."
"Barry?" Asked Cisco.
I plunged the needle into his left wrist and injected the metal in. He howled in pain.
"Please," he cried. "I just want my wife and children back."
I hesitated. He wants his family.
"Barry?!" said Cisco insistently. 
"You do?"
"Yes."
"Barry," Doctor Wells said sharply. "What's going on?"
"Nothing," I said back. "I've got him on the ground."
Frostbite was struggling, but it seemed... unenthusiastic. Like he wasn't even trying anymore.
"Put the handcuffs on," he said. "Quickly"
I sighed and scrunched up my face. I injected the other magnet into Frostbite's right wrist. He looked at me, eyes sparkling with tears. I looked away.
"They're on," I told the team. "It's safe now."
I took a deep breath and tried to relieve myself of the guilt. My heart was pumping incredibly fast.
Cisco, Caitlin, and Doctor Wells came out onto the fields.
"Great job!" Cisco said smiling.
"Yeah," I said, unable to meet his eyes. "What are you going to do with him?"
"Put him in jail," said Doctor Wells. "Trespassing and destruction of personal property."
Cisco and Caitlin escorted Frostbite away, with a bleak look on his face.
"Wait!" I shouted.
Everyone's eyes were turned to me.
"Do we really have to arrest him?" I challenged. "He lost his family, just like me."
I met his gaze. He looked like he was pleading.
    "What d'ya wanna do then?" Cisco asked.
    "I don't know," I thought about it. "We could make gloves for him or something. He hates turning everything to ice. Can't we help him?"
    Doctor Wells gave me a look. "I guess we can do that," he relented. "We'll keep him in handcuffs though."
    Cisco and Caitlin guided Frostbite inside the destroyed building, which was still missing a couple of walls. He looked back at me, and his eyes conveyed a silent thank you. Hopefully this guy won't have such a bad life. Not all problems are unsolvable.