I'm Not The Flash

Quick Thinking

Barrys POV

"Cisco!" I yelled running into the cortex. When I got there I was greeted by a few more faces.

"Barry?" Iris asked. She does this thing where she'll phrase your name as a question, asking if you are alright. 

"Hey," I said not even focusing on her or Joe. "Cisco, I think we should here her out more."

"I mean it doesn't really matter," he said looking back down at his tablet. 

"Why not?" I asked, concerned. 

"We're transferring her to Iron Heights in an hour," he said not looking up. 

"I'm sorry," Joe said cutting in. "Does someone wanna fill me in on what's happening?"

"Well, I was doing the usual morning patrol when we got this girl trying to cut down power lines. Actually, she also robbed a bank to but that doesn't matter. And now she says she's working with this organization to stop the government from targeting metahumans," I said with a gasp of air at the end.

"Uh huh," he said, not really believing it.

"Barry when you put it like that," Caitlin said, "it doesn't sound very believable." Silence filled the room as everyone was trying to comprehend what she just said.

"Do you believe her?" Iris asked Cisco and me.

We both spoke at the same time, but with different answers. 

"How can you believe that?" Cisco asks. 

I was getting frustrated. "Did you see her scar on her arm?"

"So someone shows you a scar and automatically they are a charity case," Cisco replied.

"Dude that's not what I'm saying. I just think we should get to know her more and see if her claims are valid," I said. I wasn't sure what her deal was, but I wanted to know more. If there is an actual threat, I need to stop it. 

"Well, it's too late. She's going to Iron Heights. End of Story." He was already moving on from our conversation. 

"So that's it then," I said looking at him. He gave a slight nod saying it was over. "And you all agree?" I said turning to the rest of them. Iris approached me with a loving look in her eyes.

"Barry, you know I support you but, she broke the law."

I couldn't believe it. "You know, I break the law. And I'm a hero." I paused for a moment looking each of them in the eyes trying to convince them. 

"That's different," Joe said.

"Why? Because I wear a suit? Because I have a team?" I said motioning to the room.

"We're your friends," Caitlin said. I knew they were trying to make me feel better, but they just didn't get it. 

"Friends don't do this," I said walking out. I stopped in the doorway and I could feel everyone's eyes on me. I knew I had to do something, to help this girl when an idea popped into my head. It was probably the stupidest idea ever and in doing so I would betray everyone in that room, but I had to know more. There was a feeling in my gut telling me that she was telling the truth. So, without a second thought, I changed out of my suit into my normal clothes so they couldn't track me, I ran down to the pipeline, grabbed the girl and left. 

I didn't know where I was going, but I ended up in some fields just outside the city.

I let her go and she steadied herself, looking really confused. "What the hell?" was all she could say.

"I'm sorry," I said trying to make sure she was ok. "It's just, they were going to send you to Iron Heights without so much as another thought and I had to do something."

She scoffed. "Quite the hero."

I paused. I wasn't sure what to say next. I'd never really done something like this before. I then realized I didn't even know her name. She looked up at me and I could practically see the wheels turning in her head. 

"Emerald," she said.

"What?" I asked confused. 

"My name is Emerald. But everyone calls me Em."

"How did you know I was going to ask that," I asked.

"There was a 94% chance since you didn't ask in our earlier conversations," she said dusting off her jeans.

I must have had a dumb expression on my face because she continued on. "I have enhanced intelligence and strength."

"Did that happen the night of the particle accelerator?" I asked cautiously. But at the same time, I was really curious. 

"Yeah just, dumb luck I guess." When she saw my face she could see that I wanted to know more but didn't want to ask. "I was working in my parent's lab at CCU that night. I was playing around with some chemicals and then when it went off, I got hit with a surge of energy falling into said chemicals. And here we are."

"Here we are," I said with my voice trailing off. "What happened after?"

"Not much. I laid low for a while but one day I was with my little sister. I picked her up from school and we went to get ice cream. Car came out of nowhere, I stopped it, and thanks to the internet, I went viral for about a month. Then they came."

"The government?" I asked. I could fit the pieces together but I wanted her reassurance.

"I was home alone, they knocked on the door and just overpowered me. They just appeared out of nowhere, almost like a ghost. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye," she said but I could see the past memories and emotions were too much for her. I placed my hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile. 

"It's ok you don't have to tell me anything else." 

After a moment she snapped back to reality. "Good," she said. "Now do you want to help or not? Because sooner or later, they'll come after you too. My team and I are trying to put a stop to this."

I thought about it for a moment. I mean, I had already betrayed my friends by taking Em out here. And who knows how mad they would be at me. But if I helped her, I would have to give up the Flash and leave my friends behind. "Um," I said meekly. "Can I think about it?"

She hesitated, biting her lower lip. "Fine but I'm giving you a day. If you want to help, meet me back here," she said. Then she tapped on her watch, and she was instantly gone. 

"Weird," I said before turning around to run back to Star Labs. I needed to make sure that I was 100% on my decision. But most importantly, I needed to see how my friends were reacting to my 'quick thinking'.