Soothsayer ⚡ Barry Allen

Friends?

As Boles cuffed me, en route to a visit, Terra's nose was deep in To Kill a Mockingbird. She was at least halfway through and it had only been a few days. I'm just glad she's actually listening to me. I was still iffy about Boles. Some people in here, even some of Joker's guards, I knew from outside. They were the foundation of my reputation in here, they respected me. To Boles, I was just some chatty kid he was ordered to ignore. Jokes on him, I'm better at the ignoring game.

Neither of us had said a word, even after he had uncuffed me, since he told me we were going. I had a small smile on my face when I sat across from Barry, but he bore a small frown. I could tell he had been turning over what I had said when he last saw me. He was already holding the phone so I was quick to grab my own. I could see the words on his tongue, so I was silent as he figured it out. "Who was it?" he finally mumbled, meeting my eye.

With a sigh, I answered, "A danger."

"To who?" I resisted the urge to correct his grammer and tapped my fingers on the table.

"I don't get details, Barry, only instructions."

"And you're okay with that?" he asked a little incredilously. "You're perfectly fine with being his weapon?" I frowned and watched him. I had seen outbursts of concern before, but this time it hit deeper, Barry was actually getting through to me.

"Not perfectly," I mumbled. "But it's keeping me alive. Your hands only get dirtier when you're in prison for extended amounts of time." He sighed and held his hand to his forehead, shielding his eyes from my view. He was torn up over this, I could tell, my fingers drifting closer to the glass. "If it wasn't me, someone else would've done it."

"So let someone else do it," he whined as he met my eyes again. "Breaking the rules got you in here, breaking more is only going to keep you here longer." I closed my eyes for a moment, and when I reopened them there was determination fueling my expression.

"Rules have nothing to do with how long I stay here." I leaned closer a bit and lowered my voice as I brought the phone closer. "I'm in here as a punishment, my time is delegated by the Joker, and it is most likely I'll get out on his terms." Which was the main reason I'm not going to wait around for that to happen. "I've only lived this long because he hasn't ordered someone to put a knife in my spine, because I've done as he's told. It's not pretty, but neither is the world we live in."

"Punishment for what?" I shrugged. He had never given me a reason, but I had obviously crossed him somehow.

"I really couldn't tell you. If I knew, I'd at least know what to stop doing." Barry's head hung a bit and my frown deepened, my fingers resting on the glass. His head was angled so he could see my hand without moving, his empty hand pressing against the other side. I slid my fingers up the glass as I tried and failed to recall the feel of his hands, wishing I was allowed more of the more personal visits. "I'm surviving the only way I know how, Barry," I explained softly. "I promise, it won't be like this for long."

He met my eye before nodding, not understanding why it would be so, but it put him at ease nonetheless. I had plenty of friends before, most of them just aquaintences, but I had never really had a best friend before, I just assumed this was it and that Barry was mine. No one else had visited me -- excluding the Joker's message men -- let alone go to his lengths. "Please, be careful."

"I will," I assured.

"I can't lose you, Andromeda." I was momentarily caught off guard by his words, but I tried not to let them phase me. My fingers curled against the glass as I gave him a small smile.

"You won't, don't worry."

"Andy, let's go," Boles interjected.

"Stay safe." I nodded to Barry and hung up the phone, my hand still on the glass, at least until Boles ushered me away.

"You're quiet today," he inquired after a long moment.

"So're you," I hummed, shifting my arm in his hold. It loosened a smidgeon, I don't even think he noticed.

"I have to be. It's in the job description." At least the Joker's job description. I rolled my eyes, the both of us silent the rest of the way. That is, until I saw another guard carrying Terra's limp body in the direction of the infirmary.

"Terra?" I called, trying to move towards her. I had barely gotten two steps in before Boles tightened his grip around my arm and harshly pulled me back.

"Stay out of the way," he ordered. "You'll only stunt her chances if you go after them." He waited for them to pass, I could see Terra was bloody but not much else, before dragging me back to the cell and locking me in. There was a fairly big puddle of blood on the floor, smeared where Terra's body had once been and a patch that was somewhat dryer, where the guard must have knelt to pick her up. It was starting to congeal, our paths had intersected not even a minute before, she had been like this for a while.

I stared at it for a while, unsure of what to make of it, and was jolted out of my head by Kevin's voice. "I don't have the cuffs to secure you, Andy. Think you can clean that up?" I looked at him over my shoulder and nodded, taking the rag he offered me. There was a bucket of bleach water just outside the bars and when the rag could hold no more blood, I rung it out and began again. By the time I was done my hands were red and there was still a fairly large stain on the concrete. I jumped when Kevin put his hand on my shoulder, a solemn smile on his face. "She'll pull through. Terra's a strong girl."

I nodded and gave him an apreciative smile, waiting for him to go to move from my spot propped up against the bars. I took off my over shirt and rubbed my hands on inside of it, my hands still stained as well. I don't even know what happened, she was so sucked into her book she didn't even watch me go like she normally did. Feeling sick, I got under my blanket and pulled it up over my head, laying there for a long while and eventually falling asleep.