Only Because I Need You Too

Chapter 10: Funeral

Thick flakes of snow drifted down from the blackened sky. The dim lighting around them barely illuminated the hundreds, upon hundreds of upright stones arranged in neat lines. Caitlin clenched her handbag, her breath rose in large plumes around her. Two large rectangular holes in front of her was surrounded by a C-shaped crowd of people dressed in black. To her left was Ethan, to her right was Cisco, with Sonny standing right in front of him. A thin blanket of white powder had collected upon the wooden coffins that were slowly being lowered to the ground. Sniffles were heard all around. Caitlin recognised most of the faces in the crowd, but it was hard to identify some because of the red puffiness of their faces. Sonny began to tremble slightly, his rounded featured were downturned and his eyes glittered with tears. Cisco raised his hands, gently placing them on the boy's shoulders. Caitlin's heart clenched. Cisco had told them of the boy's efforts to go into the past and rescue his parents.

Gritting her teeth, the doctor adverted her eyes. At times of weakness, no one liked to be watched. From the corner of her vision she could see Ethan mimicking her actions. His posture was rigid, his hands pressed against his sides. The only part of him that moved was his eyes. Caitlin pursed her lips and stared back at the graves. There was not much time left until she too ran the risk of being six foot under. Caitlin shifted her weight. No. She would trust her daughter. Dawn had saved her life once and she could trust the infant to do it again.

A familiar cold shiver ran down Caitlin's spine. Scouring the area, she was quick to find the culprit. At the edge of the graveyard a tall group of trees barely concealed the dark silhouette that leant against their trunks. Caitlin blinked hard and it was gone. Swallowing, she returned her gaze to the grave, but not before Ethan sent her a questioning stare. Caitlin simply sent him a meek smile in return.

*

Barry watched as Oliver turned the streamlined Arrow over in his fingers. Oliver's civilian clothing crinkled with the motion. The well lit armoury around them illuminated the gleaming peak of the arrow. The walls were lined with rows of bows and hoards of arrow. There were a line of suits in all kinds of colours, all of which was an effective armour. Even the floor itself was metal and impenetrable. Oliver raised the tip of the arrow up to the light, before placing it under his nose and smelling gently. Barry crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. The thick smell of oil and iron drifted around them, intertwining with the silence. "This arrow was poisoned." He grumbled, twirling it in his fingers. "In fact, this arrow had technology in it that has just been put on the drafting board."

"Really?" Barry scrunched up has nose and stared at the simple, but sleek, weapon.

"Yes. Look." He placed the arrow on the tip of his finger and it immediately balanced out at a slight downwards angle. "This Arrow is capable of ignoring the effects of gravity and traveling in a straight line at a constant speed until it hits its target." He eyed the arrow, once again drawing it closer to his eyes. "I would imagine that it used the Earth's natural polarity and magnetic field to follow the path it is angled at when it is loosed from the bow. But how is my only question...."

Barry cracked his jaw to one side. "So your saying this could be tech from the future?"

Oliver raised a cautious eye. "That's not exactly my area of expertise... but it is possible."

Barry nodded, clenching his fists tight. "I see. I also brought you some footage of the archer that attacked Caitlin. Would you take a look and see if you recognise them?" He asked, digging through his satchel.

Pulling out his phone, he handed it over to Oliver, who handed the arrow back to Barry. The Scarlet speedster watched as his friend's face remained entirely stoic the entire twenty seconds of the clip. Chewing on his inner lip, Barry cast his mind back to times they had fought together. Always that face. Always that clam and cold face. Oliver may have felt emotion, but the Green Arrow certainly didn't. "I don't recognise them, I'm sorry. They are not an archer I have ever seen, but that doesn't mean it couldn't be someone I know in different armour." Oliver handed Barry back his phone with a sigh. Barry raised his brows expectantly. The expert archer shrugged, "the bowman ship seems familiar."

Barry cocked his head for the side. "How familiar?"

"Like I am peering through a keyhole at an already blurry memory." He grumbled, crossing his arms quickly over his chest.

"Anything else you can see from the clip?" Barry asked, sending his friend a meek smile.

Oliver paused, pursing his lips and tilting his head to one side. Oliver repositioned himself so they both could see the screen. Zooming in on the image of the archer, her froze over the bow. "Look at the way he holds his weapon," the Arrow mused, his lips pulled into a tight line. "He had definitely received some training on how to hold a bow at least." Barry raised his brows. That was certainly something team Flash would not have noticed. Next he flicked backwards on the video, stopping just as the arrow appeared on screen. Oliver began to edit the photo, drawing a red line following the direction of the arrow's movement. It was heading right for Caitlin's shoulder. The two vigilantes locked eyes. "Caitlin was not meant to be killed by that Arrow." Barry ran a hand through his hair and let out a huff of hot air. "Or perhaps this archer is simply a lousy shot."

"So they weren't trying to kill Caitlin?" Barry queried, flicking his eyes between the image and his friend.

"Not necessarily. That might have been what the poison was for." Oliver hummed.

Barry's mouth hung wide open. How his friend could tell so much from an arrow and twenty seconds of footage was beyond him. The speedster blinked hard, piecing bits together. He was going to have to interrogate Nora and set Caitlin on the poison case. "Thank you Olly," Barry nodded to his friend with a wide smile.

"Any time Bar," The man replied with a smug smirk.