Shield

Nine

"You impressed some big people," Carson handed her the envelope. "They want you back. How does next weekend sound?"

"If my foster parents don't find out sure. He got in a couple good punches though." Izzie touched her face feeling the soreness.

"We'll Ryder doesn't loose so the fact you even laid a hand on him is what got them loving you. Where did you learn to fight?" Izzie took in a deep breath.

"Just...a friend. He gave me a place to stay while I was gone."

"Good friend then. I'll text you." Carson walked away allowing Izzie to walk away putting the envelope of money in her bag and kept walking until she got onto a main road and waved a cab down. Of course stopping by a drugstore picking up things to help hide her bruises and heal faster. Once she got out at the apartment building she climbed up the fire escape to get inside. Once in the window, she made her way to the couch setting her new phone with an alarm that would get her up before Barry and Iris. Looking at the ceiling her hands behind her head she looked back in her mind

Ryder falling to the ground blood covering his face and his blood on her knuckles and some on her knee. The crowd was going wild as she looked around memorizing the faces she needed. The faces she needed to get as much information as possible and how to get to them.

"Izzie we're going to be late," Iris yelled from downstairs.

"Coming!" Izzie checked her reflection once more making sure no bruises were showing before she left the bathroom. She ran down the stairs then grabbed her backpack that was hanging on the railing. "I'm unfortunately ready." Iris gave Izzie a look that only made her give Iris a big fake smile.

"Okay, now," Barry walked over and handed her a brown paper bag."No leaving school early and no hitting people."

"What about a GED, I've taken a few practice test online before."

"Still not getting out of school. Normal life."

"I'm a girl who can stop the Flash with her Meta-Human Powers...how normal can I be?"

"Pretend then." Barry smiled as he turned her around to the door Iris and Barry following grabbing their own things.

Izzie did as he said. Only she kept her headphones in her ears and didn't pay attention to the teachers but she was at least at school. It also helped her avoid the stares of the kids who still hated her or where just surprised to see her after all this time. She made herself avoid them all until the last bell ring and she could escape. On the way to the bus stop, she was stopped by Carson.

"What?" Izzie demanded pulling her headphones out.

"Who pissed on you and called it rain?" Carson asked with a smirk.

"God. Now, what do you want?"

"Remember what I said last night, I was right. They want you and they want you bad."

"If you telling me they want me to join them they're dead out of their luck. I'm a fighter, nothing more."

"They don't want you to join. You can make them a lot of money. Just expect more fights coming your way. They'll make money but you'll make more too. Okay, I'll text you tomorrow."

"You have a car right?" Izzie asked stopping him before he turned away.

"Yeah."

"Pick me up. I can't keep hitch hicking to the fights."

"No problem. See you tomorrow." Carson left as the city buss pulled up. Izzie hopped on and headed to Star labs as she said she would. Another day of training she hoped wouldn't lead to her powers throwing her across the room even if she was getting used to it. It was starting to get painful

She threw her back back in the lounge area then grabbed her clothes to change. She met Cisco and Caitlyn in the speed lab. "Ciscada is killing metas, we don't need to deal with random metas attacking people with him running around." She heard Caitlyn say.

"That guy was abusing those kids if anything it was a guardian angel meta." Cisco responded before taking a bite out of his rope candy.

"What's going on?" Izzy asked as she walked up to the bars.

"Nothing just...city stuff. Let's focus on your training." Caitlin stepped down and strapped on a few things that would be monitor her vitals and brainwaves. "We don't want you to go flying again. So, let's try forming a force field around an object."

"So like if Barry was about to be hit by something I could put a forcefield around him to protect him?"

"That is if you decide to be a part of Team Flash," Cisco said.

"And if I have? Chosen to be something?" She heard enough to hear what they where talking about on her way in. She knew they were talking about the man she hurt. The more the days passed something ate at her. But anger kept pushing it back. She liked the feeling of protecting those kids. The dark part of her liked the feeling of hurting him. She didn't know if she could be a hero but she could be at least useful.

"Izzie, being a hero is a big responsibility. I'm guessing right now Barry and Iris want you to just be a teenager. Have a normal teenage life."

"They're not my parents." Caitlin froze and just looked at her. "My parents died the night of that excelorator explosion. It gave me powers and then I had to grow up to take care of my toddler brother who was also killed. My chances of ever being normal...ended a long time ago. Why they even bother trying to give me anything normal is beyond me."

"A lot of people lost something that night," She showed a glimps of guilt and pain. She'd lost someone too. "But just because of that doesn't mean you don't deserve that normal life your parents would have wanted you to have. Even with us and our powers we still try and get our moments of normal."

"That's because you deserve it. I lost my chance to deserve it nine months ago." Caitlyn was about to say something but stopped realizing Barry walked into the room. She brought the tablet to her chest as Izzie turned to Barry.

"How are we doing?" Barry clapped his hands as he walked up to them

"Fine," Izzie walked to the line they set up days before and looked at the lamp on the stand in front of her. The memory of her rage from the night she beat the man who killed the last bit of her family. How she already knew what to do and how to use her powers she just needed that push. That moment. She's been locking her powers away for so long instead of embracing them and using them to her advantage. If she used them to her advantage she could finally stop the men that are the reason for crushing the last bits of her heart. Changing her life again forever.

That night she stopped being herself. The moment she stepped out of the school she wasn't just a teenager girl who lost the boy she loved. Izzie didn't know who she was yet. It's changed so many times. She just knew she hurt. That she wanted to hurt the people who hurt her. She pushed herself passed the memory of Ryan in her arms. She found only the memory of the other night. She used her powers as if she'd been using them for years.

Izzie formed the forcefield with ease even moved the vase it never leaving it place in the protective bubble. Once putting it back down she looked to Caitlin.

"Perfect. This is the first time your vitals have stayed normal the whole time."

Izzie noticed Barry's smile. Pride. He was proud of her. It turned her stomach. She hadn't had someone proud of her in a long time. Feelings she's reciving and feeling that hasn't felt for so long made an uneasy feeling appear. She didn't want to get attatch to someone. She didn't want to get attached to anyone. As soon as she did they'd be hurt or worse. She knew she couldn't handel another lose. Getting attached wasn't an option. She knew she had to put up a wall. A space to seperate her and the rest of them. The city needed them. The city didn't need her.