I'm Not The Flash

Just Another Metahuman

Barry's POV

"What have you got for me today?" I said into the coms as I was running through the city. This is what I love to do. Help people and keep the city safe. It's what I was meant to do. When I was first struck by that lightning, I wasn't sure what to make of it. But now, it's clear to me what I need to do. 

"Dude, you've been at this for two hours now. Nothing has popped up," I heard Cisco say. He sounded tired. I mean, anyone would if they woke up at six o'clock in the morning. 

"And," I said waiting for a response. 

"And, I'm tired. I need some coffee!" he said. "Not all of us are morning people."

"Fine," I said turning around. "I'm on my way back." Within seconds, I was back in Star Labs. I zipped into the cortex to find Cisco with his head laying on the desk. 

"Morning!" I said a little to chipper. He just moaned. Before I could say anything else, Caitlin walked in holding three cups of coffee from Jitters. 

She smiled and it seemed to light up the whole room. "Good morning!" she said with a spring in her step. Cisco then shot up and looked at her. He held his hands out like a little kid trying to grab the coffee, making the two of us laugh. 

He took a sip, took a deep breath, and focused on me again. "Good morning Barry," he said more relaxed. I just laughed. "Look, some of us didn't sleep much last night." 

"Cisco, what have I told you about working late at night?" Caitlin asked slowly sipping her latte. 

"The ideas," Cisco said motioning to his head. "They just seem to flow at one o'clock in the morning."

"Uh huh," I said shaking my head. "Look, I'm gonna go train some more," I said beginning to walk out of the room. Before I even passed the threshold, the alarm went off. 

I pulled my mask up while Cisco examined the threat. "52nd and Oak," he said and I sped off. I ran through the streets, weaving through the morning traffic and rush of people. When I made it there, there was nothing.

"Cisco, seriously?" I asked. 

"Dude, I swear something is wrong," he said. All that I could see was a nice neighborhood of houses. "Check the power lines. There seem to be some fluctuations."

I looked up and low and behold I saw someone clinging to the telephone pole. You think by now I would have learned to look up. "Found it," I said into the coms. She didn't seem to hear me. I watched her for a moment, curious as to what she was doing. She was digging around in the power box, that much I could see. 

"Cisco, what is she doing?" I asked, confused but curious. 

"Beats me," he said. "Just bring her in. I wanna make some more adjustments to your suit."

"Fine," I said with a sigh. I walked up to the bottom of the pole and just looked up. "Hey!" I yelled up. That seems to get her attention, but she didn't care. She just went back to what she was doing. 

"Uh, hello!" I said again. 

"I heard you the first time," she said. She was rather snippy. 

"Do you not know who I am?" I asked.

"No, I think we all know who you are," she said. Her voice sounded distant with each comeback. Whatever she was doing, she was really focused on it. 

"So, you wanna come down from there?" I asked, trying to be nice. She may be a criminal, but I have learned from experience to never lay a hand on a woman, even if you're trying to help. 

"Nope, not really," she said. Something in the box sparked, and she didn't even flinch. 

"Dude, she's not coming down," Cisco said. 

I sighed. "Alright," I said. I jumped up the pole, grabbed her by her shoulders, and placed her on the ground with a pair of power dampening cuffs. When I saw her face when we got down, she was frozen at first, but then looked scared.

"No, you don't understand," she began to say. "I have to finish." She sounded worried, which in turn worried me. 

"What were you doing?" I asked. She didn't want to reply though. She was trying to pry her hands out of the cuffs. Even when her wrist began to bleed, she was still trying. I knew she wouldn't give up so I took her by her shoulders again and sped her back to Star Labs. I put her in a cell in the pipeline to find Cisco waiting for us there. 

When she regained her focus, she was looking around, panicking. She started banging on the glass trying to break it. 

"You don't understand! I have to finish before it's too late," she said with a tear in her eyes. 

"Before what's too late?" Cisco said. She wouldn't answer. "What were you even doing up there in the first place?"

She just stared at Cisco. Why won't she answer him? I took a step forward and raised my hands to show her I wouldn't cause her harm. "Please," I said. I knew I had that look in my eye, showing that I could be trusted.

"I was hacking into some of the power lines," she said. She sighed, looking defeated. "I'm trying to cut the power to a certain area of houses."

"Why would you need to do that?" I asked confused. 

She chuckled, shaking her head. "I thought you would've figured it out by now," she said. "They're hunting us, targeting us, rounding us up like animals. When they decide we're not useful anymore, they lock us up."

"What?" I asked in disbelief. I turned to Cisco who had a confused expression on his face. "Who is doing that?"

"Who do you think?" she said raising her voice. "The mayor, the government, hell even your own neighbor. They are trying to control us because they fear us. Do you see? I'm not the bad guy. We're trying to stop their plans."

"Hold up sister," Cisco said raising his hand. "So you're saying that the authorities are trying to control metahumans?" She nodded in agreement. "Don't you think we would have known about that?" he said gesturing between himself and me. 

"No," she said. She didn't even bother explaining further. Before either of us could continue to ask questions, she continued on. "But don't worry, they'll come. And if you don't comply, they will either make you or take you down."

She then turned to look at Cisco who had a million more questions racing through his mind. "If I were you, I would stay hidden. The world thinks your dead. Best keep it that way."

"So what," I said trying to piece together the puzzle. "Are you a part of an organization?" 

"Something like that," she replied. "We're more like survivors." She then pulled up her arm sleeve revealing a number and a nasty looking scar.

"Dang girl, a little warning next time," Cisco squealed. 

"Why? I didn't get a warning? They just saw my powers and automatically categorized me as a threat." She had hurt behind her eyes. I could see it. I wanted to help her, to make it go away. 

"Look, that's all and swell, but you've clearly done a lot more than cutting power lines," Cisco said. "So how did you rob that bank?"

She looked down at her feet with grief. "It's not like I had a choice," she said. 

"There's always a choice," Cisco said closing the door. Before making his way back up to the cortex, he turned to me. "Barry, I know that look. Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment."

Then he left, but I lingered. If there really is a threat against metahumans, I need to do something. I can't just sit here and do nothing.