Episode 18 - Flash Fanfiction

Chapter 10

By the time they had returned back to Central City, it was getting pretty late. While Vixen had stayed in Detroit, Martin, Jefferson and DR Snow had all gone home. The rest of the team, however, had gone back over to STAR Labs. Astrid was determined to get some answers out of Sara, so she pulled her in to her office to interrogate her.

"Wow, Sutherland... I think Cisco might get a little concerned that the two of us are in here all alone," Sara joked.

"Cut the crap, Sara! I know that all of this is just some façade! When I scanned the fight tonight, I got a glimpse into your inner mind... You're not the Sara that I remember! Hell, are you even in there at all?"

Sara sighed, she had been wondering how long it would take. "Astrid... when I was away, a lot changed. Though not everything was a lie. The girl I met, her father was this man who taught me to fight... To put it lightly, he trains assassins... and just by me being here, I'm putting all of you and my family in danger..."

"Oh, Sara... I wish that you had told me this sooner, we can help you..." Astrid changed her tone but they were interrupted by Cisco knocking on the door.

"I'll leave the two of you to speak..." Sara said as she went to leave, Astrid tried to stop her from going but Sara ignored her.

Cisco entered the office, closed the door and quickly said, "Astrid... what you saw back there with Lisa... that was all her... I promise!"

Astrid said nothing and sat in her chair, silently. She looked away.

"So, what? You're ignoring me now?" he asked her.

"Cisco... I'm in a tough situation here... to be honest, I didn't forget about that board meeting today, I just didnt want to go! I've just been trying to weigh up all my priorities... I'm the CEO of STAR Labs, your girlfriend and we all spend day and night fighting villains. It's a large amount of stress..."

"...Woah, did you just say girlfriend? Wow...that's a lot of progress!" Cisco was happy to hear her say that word, it was the first time she had used it in relation to him.

"...Cisco, be serious!" she said sternly.

"...Wait, are you breaking up with me? Because I'm reading mixed signals here...Please don't!"

Suddenly, the door burst open and Barry was standing in the door way, holding up a laptop with a look of concern on his face.

"Barry, is everything okay?" Astrid asked, noting his concern. Ray followed in after him.

"So..." Barry began, placing the laptop on the desk. "Iris might have busted us with our little hostage situation today."

"Yeah, but I thought that we had that covered, man." Cisco said, hoping that Barry would leave the room so they could continue their conversation.

Astrid looked at the screen and her face fell. Iris had written an article in relation to uncovering the conspiracy theories in relation to STAR Labs. She had captured a photo of Cisco standing next to Captain Cold and Heatwave, who were tied up in their chairs. Cisco had the look of someone who had just been busted on his face.

Astrid swore under her breath. "Barry, you need to put an end to this, now!" she told him.

"I'll go talk to her!" Barry said leaving the room as fast as he could.

"Hey where did those guys go, anyway?" Ray asked, referring to the two villains in the article.

"I think they left after the battle, with Snart's psychotic sister... Who I did not kiss by the way!" Cisco said, making Ray raise his eyebrows in confusion. Ray took the hint and left Astrid and Cisco in the office.

"So... are we breaking up?" Cisco asked her, as she read through the article on the screen, in frustration.

She didn't look at him, "No, Cisco... We're not... But I think we might need to hire someone who can help us run this place. A face that people won't look at and think 'they're too young, or too pretty to run a large corporation such as STAR Labs. Someone we can trust!"

Cisco let out a sigh of relief. "Good to hear! So, anyone in mind?" he asked.

She pulled out some documents from in her draw. "Well, I've been stewing over this for a little while now, and a name that I found on this list coincided with a name we came across in your memories. I've analyzed this guy's profile extensively... on paper he sounds brilliant! Exactly who we need! But in your memories, he was an evil speedster that I had to warn the other you about."

"You're talking about..."

"Yeah... I'm talking about DR Wells. Who knows, he could be a good guy in this world! We will give this guy an extensive background check... even let Caitlin run a few urine and blood tests... The whole works!" Astrid said handing him the profile, "besides, judging by the way our last board meeting went, you could use a little mentoring."

"Hey, I didn't do too badly!" he argued.

"Cisco... I've seen Ray speak in meetings... you put him to shame, he said so himself!" she laughed.

"Gee, thanks!" he leant over and kissed her on the forehead.

Suddenly, Ray walked in, oblivious to the moment. "That really scary girl, Sara... well, she's gone... she told me not to tell you... but I kinda thought that you should know!"