In Time | The Flash

Chapter Thirteen | Aspen

"Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate
And though I oft have passed them by
A day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run
West of the Moon, East of the Sun."

- J.R.R. Tolkien

>>>·<<<

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

>>> Aspen's P.O.V. <<<

Barry runs the three of us to the exterior of the Torres apartment in seconds. Since it's getting darker earlier, being the day before Christmas, we have the advantage of nightfall on our side. The Flash runs us to the rear side of the building, showing us the entrance to the staircase that leads below ground. 

When we come to a stop, Tril looks over my new costume, admiring the Arrow-esque appearance that Cisco made a few alterations on. "Nice suit!"

I look down at myself. Cisco took one of the simple, dark green hoods and made it into my size, matching it with casual brown pants and combat boots. My hands are uncovered in case I need to use my powers. I look more like an elf from Lord of the Rings than the Arrow of Starling City. "Thanks. Same to you."

He flips on the small flashlight that's built into his suit. He pulls open the hatch, looking to Tril and motioning to the inside of the dark stairway. "Ladies first."

Tril glares playfully at him, pulls out her paintbrushes, and surrounds herself with color as she jumps down the staircase without first looking. I sigh heavily, following after her on a much more hesitant stride. "My sister never looks before she jumps."

"I heard that!"

We make it to the bottom of the dark and cold pipeline that used to be the Underground Railroad. Cisco and Caitlin assure us that we're headed in the right direction. When we come to the first fork in the road, Julian tells us that the canisters could be down either of the walkways, that there specs weren't that specific.

"I could check them both in seconds," Barry suggests.

"I wouldn't suggest it," Caitlin hesitates. "We don't know if Torres is behind this, or if he's a Meta. If he is, he might have the area around those containers covered in traps. It's not exactly like the Flash is an undercover superhero. He might've laid traps in case you came snooping."

Barry rolls his eyes. "We can't all be as shady as the Arrow, but all right. I see what you mean. Old school it is."

With a sigh, Tril volunteers to head down the right path alone. "I'm trained, my sis isn't," she explains, flipping a paintbrush in her hand. "I got this, Flash."

Barry nods, and I mutter, "Be careful, okay?"

"Stay in contact," Barry orders. "We don't know who or what could be down here."

Tril nods, and we part ways.

A few minutes into the darkness of the left path, Barry's flashlight flickers off. I hold in a small noise of fear as Barry groans, "Uh, Cisco? Light's out."

"For real? Great. Hold on. I don't think I have a backup."

"I can always run and get a replacement."

"No, wait," I reply, looking down in the general direction of my open palms. "I have an idea."

Barry doesn't reply, and I take his silence for a confirmation. I close my eyes and focus on the power inside me. I pull the warmth from all over, focusing it in my palms. I exhale slowly, inhaling with a single word of Irish Gaelic on my tongue: "Soilsiú." Illuminate.

All at once, the ten-foot by ten-foot tunnel we're inside lights up with an emerald glow. Fireworks, the color of gemstones, explode from my palms in a swirl of dust. It almost looks like a hoard of fireflies, circling me and the area around me. They sparkle and shimmer when they hit the wall, leaving an almost translucent magical trace on everything they touch.

I see Barry's eyes grow wide in the new, subtle lighting. He grins, his smile stretching from ear-to-ear. He looks to me, seeing my face looking a mirror image of his. I chuckle, lifting my hands higher and saying the word again. "Soilsiú!"

Again, emerald fireflies jump from my hands, spreading out into the road before us, lighting our path a few meters at a time. Barry reaches out to touch one of the emerald fireflies. The moment his gloves finger makes contact, it explodes into a mist of even more, tinier versions of what it used to be.

"This is amazing," he mumbles, still looking around himself in awe. He spins back towards me with a huge, very-Barry smile on his face. "You're amazing!" I blush, glad that the emerald color of my lights keeps it out of his sight. "I've never seen powers this beautiful."

"Neither have I!" I exclaim, moving my hands around in my creation. "All I've ever done is cause things to break in that mist that comes when I'm angry or scared."

Barry, slowly, takes one of my hands in his. "I bet that the mist is the first step in your abilities. The mist turns into these...fireflies when you have control over your powers." He looks back up to me, a sparkle in his eye. "I knew you could do it. You just needed a little control."

I shrug. "I couldn't have done it without a little help from you. Thank you, Barry."

The brunet's eyes shift away from mine, and he clears his throat. "Hey, I know this is god-awful timing, but I wanted to ask you about something."

I tilt my head and reply, "Yes?"

Barry scratches the back of his head, even though his cowl covers his neck and scalp. "Well...After we find Seph, and after this is all done and we're all back home, I was wondering, well, if yo--"

Trillium's com cuts on, cutting off Barry's next words. "--Guys! I found them!"

With a sigh, Barry and I shift our attention from each other to my sister's words. "Where are you?"

"A few hundred meters down the right path. You can't miss me!"

I nod to Barry, and he, knowingly, picks me up bridal style and runs us to my sister's location. Moments later, I'm standing beside her. She points to a section of the tunnel, a few meters ahead, that's covered in small, metal containers. "I found them. Now, I don't wanna get blown up by a trap, so...teamwork?"

Barry nods, turning to me. "Can you light up the place?" I nod, smiling. "Tril, can you create something to lift the containers into the air? I'll run along the wall and pick them up from there. I won't even touch the ground."

"How do you know the walls aren't booby-trapped, too?" I ask.

Barry sighs, shrugging. "I don't. Cisco? Anything you'd care to share?"

"Nope, this one's all you. It looks good from here, but just..."

"Be careful," Julian finishes. "That includes you, Trillium Doli Penrose."

Tril smirks. "What? Me?"

"All right. Let's get to work."

END CHAPTER THIRTEEN