I'm Not The Flash

Meet The Team

Barrys POV

"Barry, meet the team," Em said. I looked over at her and she gave me a smile of reassurance. I looked back at the three of them and they looked to be a bit hesitant. I imagined I looked the same. I shook each of their hands, trying to show I meant them no harm. 

"So," one of them said. He was a little shorter than I am, but he was built. "You're the Flash," he said. 

"Way to be discreet," Em said shaking her head with a bit of embarrassment. 

I laughed awkwardly. I was shifting my balance because I was really nervous. "Uh, no. Not anymore," I said. I could feel how dry my throat was. 

"No, I meant like, you have super speed? I don't really care about the hero stuff. I just think to speed it cool," he said. That was a relief. 

"Yeah," I said. "I would show you some party tricks but I don't exactly know where we are." 

"Once we know that we can trust you, we'll tell you where our base is hidden," Em said. I nodded my head. I get that. They don't know if I'm a liability or not. 

"Anyways," the man said again. "I'm Wyatt."

"Wyatt," I said taking a mental note. "Got it." I turned to the girl standing to his right and gave her a smile. "This is Chloe," Wyatt said. She had blonde hair and seemed rather shy. Chloe turned and walked away. We watched her as she went into the other room.

"Did I do something to upset her?" I asked. I was genuinely scared I had hurt her or made her mad. That's the last thing I wanted to do right now. 

"No you didn't," Em said. "She's like that around strangers. She didn't have the best childhood so it's hard for her to meet people and trust them."

"I get that," I said reflecting on my own childhood. I understood that sometimes it isn't always perfect and it can really mess us up.

"Anywho," the other boy said sticking out his hand to shake mine again. "Unlike sally sunshine over there, I'm Brent."

I shook his hand and gave him a smile. After that, there was a moment of awkward silence. "Well I'm Barry," I said. They all looked at me funny. "But you already knew that," I said. 

Wyatt laughed.  "I have a feeling we'll be very good friends."

"Well," Em said. "Are you hungry?" 

I chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"You see, because of the increased metabolism I have to consume at least 10,000 calories a day," I said. I was waiting for them to respond in a negative way but Wyatt started leading me away by my shoulders. 

"Like I said. Best friends."

*****

Iris's POV

It had only been about ten minutes since Barry left. We all were still standing in the Cortex. Cisco, Caitlin, and Joe were all talking about this new tech thingy that would help the police. I honestly didn't know what it was because I don't do science or math. 

I was really worried about Barry. That's all I could think about. I know he is set in his beliefs, but maybe I didn't open up enough? I could have heard him out more. 

"Hey, guys?" I asked. "Do you think we went a little too hard on Barry?"

"No," Cisco said quickly. "He thinks that whatever he does is the right thing, but that's not always true. I know he's going through a lot, so that could be clouding his judgment." They went back to whatever they were talking about, but I interrupted again.

"It's just when he came back to talk to us, he seemed different."

"Different how?" Caitlin asked. 

"I don't know like he was waiting for something," I said. I wasn't sure if that was the correct wording. "Like, he wanted to make sure that we weren't backing him up or something."

"Baby, I know you love him, but every time he gets upset, you can't cave. That's not how I raised you," my dad said. 

"Yeah, your right," I said. I still had a weird feeling about all this, but I knew I had to stick to my guns. "He's probably just at home cooling off. Or out running somewhere."

"Speaking of," Joe said. "Dinner's on me tonight. Cecile is out of town visiting her mom, and I could use the company. Pizza?"

"You truly know the way to a man's heart," Cisco said. 

"We'd be happy to come," Caitlin said with a smile. 

I wasn't sure, but I eventually gave in. "Fine! I could use some pizza anyways."

Since we were all coming from Star Labs, we made it back to the house at the same time. I called Barry a few times, but everything went straight to voicemail. Dad told me not to worry, but I can't help it. 

We all made our way inside, laughing about something Cisco said when dad and Caitlin stopped in their tracks. We made our way into the living room to find Barry's suit laying on the couch.

"This isn't good," dad said. I was in full agreement, but I was in shock so I couldn't speak.

"That's not all," Cisco said walking down next to it. He picked it up, and he also found Barry's phone. No wonder I couldn't get in touch with him. "There is absolutely no way for me to track him."

"There has to be some way," Caitlin said. 

"I could try scanning the city for when he uses his speed, but he's gotten to fast so I don't know if they'll pick up on it," Cisco said.

"Just like Savitar," dad said with his voice trailing off.

"No!" I snapped. I could feel tears forming. "He didn't become that. He's not evil. He just needs a break. He's still good." I couldn't continue on without crying. I couldn't imagine Barry leaving and becoming evil. He's too kind for that. 

"Guys," Cisco said. "He left us a message on his phone." Cisco places it on the coffee table and we all gathered around.

Hey guys, if you're hearing this, then I've decided to leave team Flash. I love each and every one of you, and you've all made me a better person because of it. But lately, we haven't been on the same side. I need people I know I can trust. I know going rogue isn't really my thing, but it's time I moved on. My mission remains the same, so don't worry. I'm not evil. And don't worry, this isn't goodbye. You'll still see the Scarlett speedster around.

We could hear some shuffling and a sniffle, and then the phone clicked. We just sat there in silence.

"No," I finally said.

"What?" Cisco asked.

"No," I said again. "I don't accept this. We are going to find him and bring him home."

"You heard what he said," Cisco said gesturing to the phone.

"He doesn't just get to leave us like that," I said. I could feel some anger behind my voice.

"I agree with Iris on this one," Caitlin said. 

"I trust your gut baby," dad said placing his arm around me. 

"Cisco?" I asked.

He sighed. "What do you want me to do?"