CW's Justice League

Flash: Keep Running (Part 1)

"My name is Barry Allen. When I was 11, I saw my mother get killed by something impossible. Then, an accident made me the impossible. To everyone else, I work as a CSI, but in secret, with the help of my friends at S. T. A. R. Labs, I save Central City and find other meta-humans like me. I am the Flash!"

(Nora:) "Previously on Arrow and Flash..."

"You need to stop blaming yourself for Oliver's death," Iris said. "I gave him hope, and he's dead!" Barry yelled.

"The man who is responsible for my father's death isn't the one that should be speaking about his life," William sneered.

"He's right. For him, me speaking at his father's funeral is like me letting Eobard Thawne say a few words to honor my mother," Barry exhaled.

"I just don't think I'm like you Oliver," Barry admitted. "You can be better!" Oliver smirked.

"Be the hero this Multiverse deserves. Be what I never could be. Be hope," Oliver said to Barry.

"I made a terrible mistake," Nora announced.

"You're still missing in the future," Iris gasped. "I missed all of those firsts," Barry sighed.

"We need to talk!" Nora stated. "Yes, Nora. Yes, we do," Eobard said smoothly.

***

Another day goes by. Another day Barry saves Central City and solves a case. Another day he spends with his family, friends, and just genuinely being happy. And also another day he spends that Oliver Queen rots in the ground, while he still breathes the air. It's been two and a half weeks since the funeral and the takedown of China White and her crew and a little over a month since Oliver's demise.

However, Barry decided he wouldn't spend one more moment crying and weeping in sorrow and regret. In fact, after the funeral back in Star, finding out about William's secret vigilante group, and coming to terms with Oliver's death, Bartholomew Henry Allen could be feeling any more enthusiastic and joyous about starting a new day.

And to prove it, he vowed that whenever a hard subject like Oliver's death or something equally sad--mostly Oliver's death-- came up, he would completely change the subject. He wasn't avoiding grieving or anything, he had just convinced himself that if he and his team were going to continue to be great, he would needed to block out any and all emotion in order to get the job done. That's what Oliver probably would have done. After all, Oliver always did tell him that he was too emotional most of the time and he was right.

And while everyone else may not think that this is a good idea, Barry knows that it's what Oliver wanted him to do. He thinks this is a great idea. He thinks. This will be a good change, right? Right?

Well, with that in mind, he ran all the way to CCPD to get started on a new case that he got yesterday. He walked out of the elevator doors and into the main office with his bag slung over his shoulder and a bright smile on his face. He made his way up stairs to his lab and quickly got to work. He was getting through running a DNA analysis on a fingerprint when he saw Joe enter the lab and start walking towards him with a file in his hand and saying, "Hey, Barry, I just got this from Singh. He said it's a new blood sample from the crime scene." "Thanks, Joe, just set it on the desk," Barry said not even looking up from his microscope. Joe just nodded and set the file on the desk and turned to walk out. Right as he was nearing the door, he stopped and turned to face his son again who was still busy at work. "Barry, are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Barry asked confused. "Well, I just... I know that you've had a rough couple of weeks and--" Joe was stopped by Barry chuckling and saying, "Okay, let me stop you, right there. Yes, it has been a hard time with everything that's happened, but I am honestly fine." "Are you sure, because I just want you to know that it's okay to miss your friend and while I never approved of his methods that much, he did help people. And he helped you a great deal, so just let me know if you want to take some time to yourself--" Joe got cut off by Barry finally looking up at him with an annoyed look and saying, "Joe, how many times do I have to say it? I. Am. Okay."

The older man raised his hands in surrender. "Just looking out for you, Barr." The speedster's eyes softened, "Look, I appreciate that you're concerned about me, but I'm okay. Really." "And you're sure about this?" Joe repeated. Barry smiled and nodded. Joe sighed in defeat, "Okay, then. See you at dinner?" "I'll be there," Barry replied. Joe smiled then left Barry in the lab.

As soon as he was sure that Joe was out of earshot, Barry leaned against his desk and willed himself not to break down in that moment. He sniffled and let out a shaky breath. He tried to keep his emotions in, but every time he tries to keep it all in, it comes out harder with ten times more force. All he can do is keep up the charade but even even then, he's not sure how long that'll last either.

***

At S. T. A. R Labs, Iris and Caitlin were watching the monitors and any meta-human activity going on, while Ralph and Sherloque were arguing about a case. Meanwhile in the speed lab, Nora and Cisco were writing and solving new equations to help her get faster and also running in the lab to get her current speed levels.

"Okay, stop!" Cisco hollered. As soon as he said that a blur of purple and yellow lightning appeared in front of him. Nora stood there with a small smile on her face. "How was that?" she asked. "You're getting faster, girl, that's for sure," Cisco said walking away from the monitors and back over to the white board. Nora watched him as he wrote down different equations and suddenly felt a pang of sadness grip her heart. "Cisco, can I ask you something?" she said quietly. "Yeah, sure," he said still scribbling equations on the board. "Do you think that me coming back to the past was the catalyst for Oliver's death?" she asked.

Cisco stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face the young speedster. He could see the tears starting to well up in her eyes and said, "Hey, Nora it's not your fault. You just tried to save your dad." "And in the process, I took away somebody else's!" she countered as tears ran down her cheeks. "No! No, no, no. You're not going to pin this on yourself. Barry's already blaming himself, don't you start, too. This isn't your fault, it's not Barry's, hell, it's not even Oliver's! Now I may not be able to convince your dad just yet, but I'll be damned if I see you go down that same road," Cisco swore.

Nora, without saying another word, launched herself into Cisco's arms and hugged him tightly. He returned the embrace and the two of them just stood there, content to be in each other's presence.

Suddenly they both heard a voice over the P. A. say, "Guys, we have a problem."

To Be Continued...