Hold Steady ⚡ The Flash

Warning Signs

Rowan lingers in the shadows of the restaurant titled Oasis. Cisco did have one thing right about the girl. She liked her shadows. 

It was a natural camouflage and when people did see something in those dark places they wrote it off as an overactive imagination. 

Rowan flips the paper over in her hand, running down the list of names to confirm the man she was looking for was here. 

The girl jumps when the paper in her hand suddenly bursts into flames, her body temperature skyrocketing. 

Rowan snuffs the flames out on her pants, not even feeling the slightest tingle from the heat. She glances up, wondering why such an event happened when her eyes settle on a thick green smoke creeping along the ground. 

She had enough experience with deadly toxins to know to get out quickly. 

Leaping through the propped bathroom window she used to get in earlier, Rowan flees the scene. Wondering what in the hell just happened, not only in there but to herself. 

.

Barry wished there was a little more recognition in his job. Not as a forensic scientist of course. But as a superhero. 

He wondered how Rowan did it. Keeping her secret a secret for so long. 

Then again Rowan didn't seem like the type of person who did it for the glory and praise. From what he had learned from Oliver, Rowan started being a vigilante to protect and clean up the glades. Not because she wanted to be a hero that people looked up to. 

Walking up the stairs at CCPD, Barry and Joe head to the labs to get to work. Pushing open the door to his workstation, Barry jumps when he sees someone sitting in his chair, their back turned to the door. 

Joe's hand automatically goes to his belt, worried that a criminal was waiting for Barry. 

The chair spins, Rowan casually relaxed in the comfortable chair, with a book resting in her hands.

"Hi." 

"Who the hell are you?" Joe asks, looking to Barry for answers.

Barry scratches at the back of his neck, "This is Rowan Nyx...my friend."

"The firefighter." Joe breathes out, his eyes widening in awe. 

Rowan sighs, lowering the book from her face. She didn't realize her name had spread so far. 

"Uh- what are you doing here?" Barry cautions. The last he saw her the girl had scared the team at S.T.A.R. Labs pretty badly. If he was being honest he was a bit scared as well but mostly concerned. 

"Didn't have a shift till later and I don't really know the town so I decided to hang here." Rowan spins back around, flipping the page in her book. "Just ignore me."

Joe glances at Barry, "How do you know Rowan Nyx?"

"Long story," Barry whispers back even though he was fairly positive Rowan could hear them anyway. Joe shrugs and disappears into the back to retrieve a box while Barry cautiously approaches the female vigilante. "How are you doing?"

"I said just ignore me." 

"I'm worried about you Rowan." 

Closing her book, Rowan finally meets his eyes. "So am I. I'm sorry I'm being so difficult."

Barry flushes, glancing off to the side. "No- it's okay."

"No, it's not. I really appreciate what you and your friends are trying to do- I've just been through a lot recently so I'm sorry." Rowan stands from Barry's seat, placing a gentle hand on the CSI.