Episode 16 - Flash Fanfiction - Gotham's Gladiators

Chapter 4

Caitlin was unsure as to what time it was, or how long she had been laying in the disgusting room, but the moment that the door opened she sat up, instantly.

A black silhouette entered the room. She couldn't see his face, but she could tell that he was very tall and very built. She made the sound of a muffled scream as he walked towards her, grabbed her hair, and dragged her from the bed.

She felt her body give out as she fell onto the floor. She cried and screamed in pain, but still they were only muffled noises. Nonetheless, the man said nothing. He dragged her from the room, by her hair. She couldn't walk as her feet were still bound, as were her arms. She feared for what was to come next as they left the room. The large metal door made a loud slam behind them. It made her flinch.

"So it turns out that Falcone isn't a word, but a name..." Cisco said as Barry returned back to the room.
"A name?" Barry repeated.

"Yeah... The name of a really rich family." Cisco added.

"I knew that name sounded familiar..." Astrid said trying to place a face in her mind.

"You know something that we don't?" Cisco asked her.

"My father once mentioned the name Carmine Falcone. He told me the whole family were never to be trusted. I think I only ever met him once at some party that we attended with the Queens... but that was about ten years ago."

"But that doesn't really give us much to go on." Barry commented. "We'll keep looking first thing in the morning. You guys should get some rest, as we'll have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow. Astrid, you should stay here with us so we're all together. Take my bed, I'll stay on the couch and keep watch."

A few hours later, Astrid joined Barry on the couch. "I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to get back to sleep. Caitlin's out there and as much has it hurts, I've tried to get a reading on her. But I'm getting nothing. She doesn't even have her phone on her, Cisco tried tracking it already."

They heard Cisco snoring loudly and laughed. "Well, at least he can sleep." Barry added.

"That man can sleep through anything... He could sleep through an apocalypse... he's always been that way. Hey, Barry, can I ask you something?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah, ask me anything."

"Earlier today, back at STAR Labs, when you said all those things to Cisco, you said that I had some sort of destiny. What did you mean?"

Barry stared at her, he had hoped that his friends had not remembered this part, for it had something to do with what DR Fate had told him. Barry tried to find the right words, to satisfy his friend's question without giving up his secret.

"I meant that I can see you doing something greater with your life. You're a CEO of your own empire with telepathic powers and you have the determination and strength to make the impossible happen. You brought the lot of us together, didn't take a 'no' from me and now look at us... We're team Flash. We're heroes!" He thought that he had answered that as perfectly as he could.

"Barry. We might be a team... but you're the Flash. You're the inspirational hero, not me. But thank you, I appreciate what you're trying to say. Though, the things you said about Cisco, they hurt me as well as they did him, and while there might be some truth... I believe that we make our own destinies. Nothing is set in stone and if Cisco and I..." she turned to look in the direction of where her friend was still sleeping, to ensure that they couldn't be overheard, "...well if destiny brings us together, then so be it. I know that I would lay down my life for the guy... as annoying as he can be... Just as I would for you and Caitlin."

These words haunted Barry. She had sacrificed her own life when that Kryptonian had gone to take the final blow that would have ended his life. However, while those events had not taken place in this timeline., they had still happened in his lifetime. He would always see her as a hero. "Astrid, I'm only the hero because you've inspired me to be one. You'll always be a hero to me. Seriously, you guys are the best friends a hero could ask for." Barry laughed.

Astrid nudged at Barry's arm with her elbow and he picked up on something that she had mentioned earlier. "You and Cisco, what happened between you today?" he asked her.

"Something that I don't think will happen again. He was under the influence of the Rainbow Raider and I felt bad for not knowing sooner." She said, and he got the hint that she wanted to end the topic. But before they did, he had to ask, "Are you going to tell him?"

"Nope. It will just complicate things, and right now we have more important things to deal with... like how we're going to find Snow."

"Right... any ideas?"

"Not a single one..."

The two of them continued to talk strategy, until the morning finally hit and a dim light shun through their window.

"Hey, Cisco. You need to get up!" Barry called out to his still sleeping friend.

"Dude, it's still night time!" Cisco groaned as he pulled the blanket up over his head.
"No... It's definitely morning... This city just seems so dark, even during the day." Barry replied, as he ripped the blankets from his friend.

Astrid emerged from the bathroom, dressed and ready to go. "So what are we doing for breakfast?" she asked them.

"We can either find a café... or a bar?" Barry suggested.

"Bar!" Astrid and Cisco both said in unison.
"I guess I should have seen that coming. Though, I suppose that we can always listen out for any drunk rumors in relation to missing metas." Barry replied.

"Precisely... Two birds... One stone!" Astrid agreed.

The three of them managed to find the nicest looking bar, within walking distance, which Astrid finally agreed to enter. It ended up being a forty-five-minute walk from their hotel, and was surprisingly busy at that time of day. They ordered their breakfast with a round of drinks and sat in a booth to eat.

Astrid scanned the bar for thoughts and voices and then heard some that sounded very familiar. Then the three of them heard a laugh and they knew exactly who it was.

They turned to see Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak and John Diggle sitting at the bar. It had been Felicity who had laughed.