Aflame: The Flash (1)

11.1

11.1 weird but accurate

—REWRITTEN—

We're still at Dad's house trying to figure out who made this mess. "You know who did it, don't you?" I ask Dad, after examining his reaction to this event.

"Mm-hmm. Here, I'll give you a hint. Former S.T.A.R. Labs employee," Dad says.

Well that could be hundreds of people. But which one of them could have a score to settle with Dad? Nope. Still hundreds of people. I crouch down and analyze a piece of glass that was shattered.

Then it clicks. "Of course. Hartley Rathaway," I say. The only one smart enough to do this. And the only one with a weird love of sound waves.

"Ding, ding, ding," Dad says as I smile and we go over to Barry.

"There's no point of impact. No rock or bat or any solid object went through these windows. It's as if they just shattered themselves," Barry says. Barry looks at us and raises an eyebrow. "This wasn't some teenage prank?"

"No, it wasn't," Dad replies.

"But you don't want our help," Barry says. "Why?"

"Because, I already know who did this," Dad says. When Barry looks at us confused I elaborate.

"Hartley Rathaway," I tell Barry.

"Who is Hartley Rathaway?" Barry asks, turning back to Dad.

"Hartley Rathaway is the prodigal son. And he has returned," Dad says.

🔥⚡️

"Hartley Rathaway possesses one of the finest scientific minds I've ever encountered," Dad explains.

"Any ties to Rathaway Industries?" Joe asks.

"His grandfather founded the company, his father expanded it, and Hartley here was set to inherit the throne," Dad explains.

"What happened?"

"He came out to his parents," I say.

"Old money, old values," Cait adds.

"They were estranged when we met, but, brilliant," Dad says. "I couldn't have built the particle accelerator without him."

"You guys never mentioned his name," Barry says.

"That's because he had a challenging personality," Cait says and I roll my eyes.

"What she means is he was mostly a jerk, but every once in a while, he could be a dick," Cisco says making Joe laugh.

"It's like his personality just took all the good in him and threw it into the sun," I say and then furrow my brows, comprehending my choice of words. Definitely could've said something better.

"That is a weird but accurate analogy," Dad says as I smile. He then turns to Joe and Barry. "Let's just say that Hartley, like many outliers, had trouble relating to his peers."

"Yes, but he was always your favorite," Cait said.

"I think you liked him more than me," I say.

"The chosen one," Cisco says. "He referred to himself like that."

"So if you two were so close, why would he target you?" Joe asks.

"Hartley left S.T.A.R. Labs about a year ago after we had a- a disagreement," Dad says. I've always wondered what that was about.

"About what?" Joe asks.

Dad doesn't answer. "Look, don't worry. We'll stop him. I won't let him hurt you. Any of you," Barry says and then looks at Joe. "Let's get back to my lab alright?" He then walks away.

"I could've gone my whole life without seeing that jerk again."

🔥⚡️

"Rathaway Industries is under attack," Cisco tells me. "Sector cars en route."

"Okay," I say. "Call Barry, I'll get there."

I reach there and then see Barry. I look at him, not meeting his eyes. He nods at me, telling me that Cisco filled him in, then we turn to Hartley. "It's over, Rathaway," Barry yells at him, after pushing him down.

"You know my name. I know some names too. Caitlin Snow. Cisco Ramon. Harrison Wells," He starts. He looks at me. "Olivia Wells." I shift uncomfortably. "I can hear the radio waves emanating from your suits. About 1900 megahertz each. Is that them on the other end, listening? Are they gonna hear you both die?"

"No," Barry says. "They're gonna hear you get your ass kicked." I chuckle, rolling my eyes at his remark.

"Okay," Hartley says as he then sends a soundwave at Barry. He then does the same to me but I block it with my force field. He laughs, "Huh. Guess your not that useless, anymore." I grit my teeth but don't say anything back.

Barry then runs behind the police officers and throws things at Hartley. I try use my pyrokinesis on Hartley but once the sound waves hit my fire, my fire starts to diminish. He then sends another sound wave at me and I use my first technique, blocking myself from the attack. This time, after blocking myself, I push the force field out, sending the sound waves back at him. He falls back to the ground as Barry runs and grabs his hands. He then pulls him up so that Hartley is standing. I move closer to the pair, next to Barry.

"Looks like you're not as smart as everyone says," Barry tells him.

"Smart enough to have figured out who Harrison Wells really is," He says making me furrow my eyebrows. He looks at me. "Smart enough to figure out things about him not even you know." He then turns back to lack at Barry. "You see, I know his secret."