Soothsayer ⚡ Barry Allen

Blowin' Off Steam

I stepped into the gun store, the tinkle of a bell alerting the clerk of my presence. "I'll be out in a minute!" someone called from the back room. I drifted my fingers over the glass cases as I walked to the back, studying the guns on display as I waited. The room had a beautiful collection of toys, but sadly, I wasn't here to play with them. I smiled as an old man who just set my nerves off walked out of the room, a light smile on his face. "How can I help you, little lady?" he asked as he came over, leaning against the display case between us.

"You recently sold a rifle to someone," I started, staring him over boredly.

"I sell at least four rifles daily, missy. You gotta be more specific." With a sarcastic twitch to my lips, I hoisted the gun onto the display case, his eyes widening a bit. Guess he was too focused on my looks to worry about the sniper rifle stashed behind my back.

"I have a funny feeling you'll know who I'm talking about." Darting his eyes to me for a moment, William Brooks picked up the rifle and looked down the sight for a moment. I watched him pale as he held the gun against his shoulder, his face full of regret as he lowered it.

"A man named Clem Rusty bought this gun," he informed, grabbing a clipboard. "All his information checked out--"

"He killed a 17 year old girl with this gun," I informed matter-of-factly. I could see his expression turn further inward. "Clem Rusty wasn't even his name." Setting down the clipboard, William rested a hand on the display case as he ran the other down his face. It had gotten down to his chin before I forced a knife through the back of the other. I tuned out his scream, it wasn't what I was looking for. "You sold this gun to the Joker."

"What?!" he rasped, holding his trembling wrist still with his undamaged hand. "How was I supposed to know?!"

"You do that part of your job," I growled, twisting the knife. He crumbled down at the pain, hardly keeping himself upright, pulling on his hand probably only made the pain worse. "You're supposed to put the buyer through a thorough background check."

"He checked out, damnit! Everything checked out, I swear!" I rolled my eyes and twisted the knife further, his screams filling the small room. "That's all I know, lady! I've never seen him besides that day! Please, stop!" I scoffed and withdrew the knife, watching him crumble to the floor behind the counter.

"If your name ever reaches my ears again, you won't just lose the function of your hand," I informed in a bored tone before leaving the store. I cleaned the blade on my dark jeans and pocketed it as I started back home.

⚡

I was nearing the end of Cell and I wasn't ready for it to end. I wasn't ready for Barry's outburst, either. "What did you do today?" he asked angrily, the door slamming shut behind him.

"Followed leads," I shrugged, setting the book aside. "What did you do today?"

"I went over to investigate a gun store. Apparently a redhead came in and terrorized the distributor." I couldn't help the small curl that came to my lips, but it only set Barry further off. "He won't be able to use his right hand again. You severred all the tendons in his fingers." The curl only grew, as well as his anger. "You can't just go out and stab people because they sell guns, Andromeda!"

"I stabbed him because he sold the gun, Barry," I replied in a hard tone. "I wanted to do a lot worse." He went to reply but snapped his mouth shut, holding his hand to his forehead as he took a deep breath.

"He didn't even know who he was selling it to," he sighed, meeting my eyes again. He was tired, hurting, and in no kind of mood to deal with my bullshit. It was clear, he made no effort in hiding it, but I was in no kind of mood to take anyone's bullshit.

"That's what he told me," I shrugged. "Doesn't change the fact that he did it."

"He could've just as easily bought the gun from anyone else. What would you have done then?" he tried, stepping closer to his favorite chair.

"I would've just as easily drove a knife through anyone else's hand," I answered honestly as I stood from it. This information didn't shock him at all, hell, our first visit I stabbed someone in the neck right in front of him. Barry's more than aware of what I'm capable of, he just hasn't seen my limits pushed before this.

With a deep sigh, Barry took my hands and looked me in the eye for a moment, holding me there to fully gain my attention. "It doesn't matter who, you can't assault people. It's illegal, Dromi."

I scoffed and pulled my hands from his. "Just because you've gotten the recognition you deserve, doesn't make vigilantism legal, mátia mou," I replied, walking past him. "I told you before I don't want you going after the Joker, if there's an issue, I have no problem working on my own to get this done."

"That's not what I meant," he tried as he trailed behind me.

"Then what did you mean, Barry?" I asked as I quickly turned back to face him, watching his steps stutter a bit. "Because Fankie is dead and I'm sick of doing nothing about it." Closing his eyes with a long exhale, he grabbed my arms gently, nothing but worry in his face.

"You have to have a level head, Andy," he breathed when he opened his eyes again. "You can't run around like a chicken without a head. Just...let me help you do this the right way. Please." I pursed my lips and looked away from him, feeling anger swell hot in my chest. Barry's hands left my arms to rest on my cheeks, pressing his fingers and my hair into my skin as he brought my eyes back to his. "Dromi, I don't want you getting hurt."

"Doing this the right way won't work. Ask Bats, he knows all about how the Joker eludes punishment." I grabbed the base of his wrists and gave him a chaste kiss, turning and walking into the bedroom. "And getting hurt, that's only half of the journey." I tilted my head back at static, but it didn't get far before Barry was stood in front of me again.

"Andy, I'm serious. You can't go haywire about this."

"Does it look like I'm losing my marbles to you?" I scoffed.

"I can see they're starting to spill over," he nodded, his entire face hard, his body stiff as a board. "Let me help you before you lose control of the situation." I shifted my footing and took a deep breath, shaking my head a bit.

"I'm fine, Barry. I'll ask for your help if I need it." I turned on my heel, feeling a throb in my temples as I walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" he asked as he followed behind me.

"I need a drink," I sighed, grabbing my denim jacket and holding it over my shoulder as I left. As least Barry was understanding that I wanted to be alone.