CW's Justice League

Flash: Keep Running (Part 2)

Cisco and Nora rushed into the Cortex and saw the monitors blaring. "Mom, what's happening?" Nora asked. "We got a meta-human alert down at Central City Bank," Iris replied. There was a whoosh in the Cortex and a familiar streak of yellow lightning that entered the building. Just as fast as the lightning had appeared, it was gone along with Barry's Flash ring.

"I'm going to go after Dad," Nora said speeding away in a blur of yellow and purple. "Okay, what's the situation?" Barry said through his comm-link as he sped down the street. Nora sped after him and said, "Robbery at Central City Bank." "Guys, there's about three or four hostiles all with element-based powers," Cisco said through the com-link. "Meaning what?" Nora asked.

"Meaning--" "--Nora, look out," Barry cut Caitlin off. He ran at Nora and knocked them both out of the way of a giant boulder hurdling towards them. The boulder crashed in the middle of the street. The two speedsters were on the ground scrambling out of the way as three of the four meta-humans blasted a combination of fire, wind, and water in their direction.

"I guess element-based powers means earth, water, air, and fire," Barry breathed. The two of them quickly ran out of the way of an incoming fireball, as it landed on top of an abandoned car. "Okay, Dad, how do we beat them?" Nora asked. Barry just there with a dark expression on his face. "Dad? Dad!" Nora yelled. Barry looked at his daughter and said, "Just make sure that nobody gets hurt."

"Dad, what are you going to--" she wasn't able to finish because her father zipped away leaving her confused and borderline worried.

Barry sped off down the street towards the four metas occasionally making a zigzag to dodge incoming objects. He ran at the first meta with fire powers and knocked him out. Dodging incoming water spikes, Barry turned his attention to the water-bending meta and ran in a circle and threw a lightning bolt at her, knocking her unconscious.

The metahuman with wind powers summoned a powerful circling column of air that surrounded himself, while the other rushed forward conjuring up rock slabs to hurl at the speedster. Barry gritted his teeth and lunged at the metas. He ran at them both and punched them both on opposite sides of the street, knocking the air meta out.

Nora, by this time, had taken the unconscious metas back to the pipeline. When she returned from the pipeline, she walked into the cortex and saw the others huddled around the desk, looking at the screens intently.

"Hey what's wrong?" she asked.

Iris whirled around and said, "Get to your father, now!" Nora saw the urgency in her mother's eyes and quickly zoomed off back to where she had left Barry and the last meta. What happened to her dad? Was he in some kind of trouble?

Oh, and she was right. There was trouble, but her dad wasn't in it. He was causing it! Instead of seeing the meta attacking Barry and the bystanders, Barry was glaring down at the meta-human as he beat him to a pulp. The meta was now using his powers to defend himself rather than throwing the first punch.

Barry easily dodged the attack and kicked the air meta in the ribs, effectively knocking the breath out of him. Nora then noticed the earth-bending meta starting to stir and ran him back in the pipeline before quickly coming back to where her father was still beating the meta.

By now, people were starting to gather around and pulled out their phones to videotape the fight and take pictures. While Flash watched as the weakened meta tried to crawl away, Barry smirked vengefully at the man's futile attempt to escape. Nothing could escape him.

"Looks like I've got the upper hand now," Barry sneered.

The man coughed and spit up blood into the grass and tried to keep crawling, but was stopped by a sharp kick in his side. Barry watched his enemy cry out in pain and smiled. He was subconsciously aware of civilians watching him attacking this meta, but he could care less.

This was the moment he was waiting for. The moment where he would kill the Anti-Monitor. Unbeknownst to the people and Team Flash, Barry was having a self-induced hallucination. All they saw was Flash pummeling a meta-human crook into the ground. Nora watched, frozen in horror, as her father beat the man into the ground as people all around the area started gathering to witness their hero's downward spiral. Over the com-link she heard her mother tell her to do something, but what could she do except watch her dad murder a man.

All the while, people were taking videos or stressing over what to do as police officers were hesitantly moving their hands to their holstered guns. Was this really happening? We're they really witnessing their hometown hero beat a man?

"You're not taking away another person I love ever again! I won't let you. This is the last time that I have to deal with you, Anti-monitor. You ruined my life; all of our lives! And now you're pay for the death of Oliver Queen," Barry snarled as he choked the life out of the meta. Back in S.T.A.R. Labs, Team Flash was watching Barry lash out at who he thought was the Anti-monitor. "Wait. Did he just call him the Anti-monitor?" Caitlin asked. Iris, Joe, Caitlin, and Cisco looked at each other in realization.

"Nora, you have to get Barry out of there. He's having a hallucination," Iris ordered. "What do you mean?" came her reply over the com-link. "Nora, he thinks the meta is the Anti-monitor," Caitlin chimed in. Elsewhere, Nora was taking in this new revelation. "OK, I'm on it." Then, before her dad could land another blow on the criminal, she swooped in and took her dad away from downtown and sped him back to the lab and locked him in the pipeline.

Back in downtown Central City, first responders were arriving on the scene and the crowds were starting to disperse. Officers had already arrested the rogue metas and proceeded to lead the "airbender" to one of the nearby paramedics.

***

Later that day in the medlab, Caitlin was running tests on Barry, while the rest of the team stood around them in a semi circle brandishing looks of worry and concern. Once the tests had concluded Caitlin went back to the monitor to examine the screenings. "Well, physically, you're in tiptop shape. No exposure to any kind of chemical," she listed off. "No signs of brain damage. No ingestion or injection of any drug that produces hallucinogens; nothing."

Barry sat up from the bed and furrowed his brow in confusion, "Well then, if it's not anything physical, then what the hell is it?"

Caitlin quickly glanced away from Barry and began to fidget with her hands. Nora folded her arms across her chest and approached her godmother. "Caitlin, what is it?" she asked warily. "What's wrong with Dad?" Cisco exhaled sharply and walked over to check out the monitors. "Oh, frak!" he exclaimed. This caused Barry to hop down from the medical bed and look at his family with deep concern.

"Guys, what. Is. Happening. To me?"

Silence, and then...

"You have PTSD, Barry."

To Be Continued...
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