The Flash: Next Generation

chapter 19: secrets

Emma's pov:

It was a Saturday morning and me, Hunter and the twins were hanging out at the loft.  "so what are we doing today boys?" I ask pulling out my phone and sitting on the couch. Hunter sits beside me, "no idea." He says. Ethan sits in one of the chairs. "We could go skateboarding." He suggests. I smile, "that sounds fun!" I say excitedly. Dad walks out of his bedroom carrying his bag. "Hi dad." I say. He waves and smiles, "hi emma." He says. He checks his watch and then walks over to me. "I gotta go. You kids behave." He says, he leans down and kisses me on the cheek. "Bye dad. See ya later." I say, I feel a gust of wind and hear a door slam. "Let's get our boards!" I say jumping up. Then someone knocks at the door. I walk over and when I open the door a boy about my age stands there. He has light brown eyes and hair. It's kinda styled like dads hair. "Hi." I say, he smiles "hi." He responds, he looks past me into the loft, "can I help you with anything?" I ask. "Yes actually, i'm looking for Barry Allen. Someone told me this is where he lived." He says. "You just missed him... but you can come in if you want." I offer and give a small smile. "Oh no thank you. I'll come back later if that's ok." He says and smiles back. I nod my head, "yeah he should be home later." I say. "Alright... thanks." He says, then he walks away. I shrug my shoulders and close the door. "Who was it?" Hunter asks as he comes down the stairs holding our boards. "I have no idea." I say and take my board from him. "From what I could see he looked like your dad. I thought maybe he came back cause he forgot something." Hunter says. "Yeah..." I say, he did look alot like dad. I start to think and I grab one of my framed baby pictures. "What are you doing?" Hunter questions. "Looking." I say and flip over the picture frame, I pull back the tab. Hunter chuckles at me, "it's just your baby picture." He says confused. I pull the photo out and see it's folded in half. I look up at Hunter and he looks shocked. "What the heck?" He says. I unfold the picture and... "you have a sibling!" Hunter yells. "A brother..." I say quietly, "I hand the frame and photo to Hunter and zoom out! I run to CCPD and to dads office. He has his back turned when I come in. "Were you ever gonna tell me?" I ask irritated. Dad jumps and turns to face me. "Tell you what?" He asks, I see the confusion all over his face. I sigh to calm myself down, "A boy just came by the loft... funny thing is... he looks just like you. And he was looking for you." I say. His eyes widen, "oh..." he says. "I'm gonna go... you probably have alot of work to do." I say and walk out. I walk out of CCPD and when I'm out of sight I zoom to Star Labs. I run through the cortex and to the speed lab. I let my anger out on the punching bag. I punch until the seam bursts. I stop and sigh, I clean it up and then sit down. I take a couple sips from my water bottle and walk into the cortex. "Hi." I say, everyone looks over at me. "Hi." Cisco says, "hey." Caitlin responds, she gives me a small smile. "Yo." Ralph says. "Do you want me to order some more punching bags?" Cisco asks. I nod my head, "I'm gonna head out." I say, I walk out and then the alarm goes off. I run back in and speed change into my suit. "What's wrong?" I ask when I get back. "Someone shot up CCPD." Cisco says, I zoom to CCPD. When I walk in I see someone standing in the middle of the lobby. "Who's gonna die first?" They ask, I roll my eyes and laugh. "That sounds dumb." I say, the person turns to look at me, "hello speedy." They say with a creepy smile on the end. I look around and see dad trying to sneak down the stairs. "Um hi." I say quickly looking away from him. The meta notices I was staring and looks behind them. Dad freezes and does an awkward smile. "Where are you going?" They ask and aim the gun at him. His eyes widen, and I quickly grab them and run them to a cell. I run to Star Labs and change back into my regular clothes and then run back to the loft. I sigh and walk back in. I see Hunter and Grayson sitting on the couch, and Ethan sitting on the floor playing with Buddy.  They all turn towards me when I shut the door. "There you are!" Hunter says and let's out of a sigh of relief. "What happened to you?" Gray asks. "An alert I had to deal with." I say and shrug my shoulders. "Are we still going skateboarding?" Hunter asks. I shrug my shoulders, "sure." I say. All of them jump up and grab their boards. "Let's go!" Ethan says. As soon as I open the door my phone beeps again. They all look at me and I give an awkward smile. "Can't your dad handle it?" Ethan asks. "I guess... but he might need my help." I say, they all frown. "Go ahead." Gray says. I giggle as all 3 of them go back into the loft. I zoom to Star Labs and change into my suit. I walk into the cortex and see dad standing there in his suit as well. I roll my eyes and he raises an eyebrow. "Where are we going." Dad asks, "well downtown, blackout escaped." Cisco says, I zoom out and to downtown. I stop in front of the meta, "hey sparky." I say. "I have to feed!" He responds and shoots a bolt at me! I dodge and then he shoots again, this time it hits me. "Emma, don't get hit." Dad says over the comms. "Too late." I say, I zoom towards the meta and he hits me again. I try to run but... he stole my powers! "Um... guys." I say over the comms.  "I got ya." Cisco says and I see a breech appear in front of me. I run through and it closes behind me. "Thanks." I say, "who was that guy? And why can't I run anymore?" I ask. "His name is Blackout. He harnesses electricity." Cisco says. "The speed force in your cells has been completely depleted." Caitlin says. "But your DNA hasn't been altered so this shouldn't be permanent." She adds. I let out a sigh of relief, "I guess I'll just walk home and let you guys deal with sparky." I say and walk out to change into my regular clothes. "She's mad at you isn't she Barr?" I hear Ralph ask as I'm coming back from changing. "What about?" Cisco asks. "She said a boy came to the loft and that he looked like me..." dad says, I hear Caitlin let out a soft gasp, "you don't think it could be..." she asks concerned. "I don't know." Dad says. I walk out into the cortex and everyone looks at me. "What?" I ask. "Nothing." They all respond in sync. "Well i'm gonna walk home. Cya guys." I say and walk out. As I walk home I start to think on what i've missed out on when my thoughts are interrupted by a voice behind me, "hi" they say. I quickly turn and see the boy from earlier, he smiles. "hey." I say and give a fake smile back. "Um... I'm not prying or anything but you look kinda upset. I know we don't know each other but if you need to talk, sometimes it's easier to talk to a stranger. They don't know you so they..." he stops and does an awkward smile. "Sorry. I ramble when I get nervous." He adds and rubs the back of his neck. I notice his cheeks have turned red and I smile.  "It's fine. I'm just not having the best day." I say and let out a chuckle. "I know how that feels." He says. "Oh, I don't even think I introduced myself. My name is Asher." He says with a smile and holds out his hand. "I'm Emma." I say and lightly grab his hand. We shake and then he pulls his hand away, "it's nice to meet you." He says. "You too." I respond. We walk for a little more when a womans voice comes from behind us, "Asher... what are you doing here?" The voice says. Asher jumps and turns around. "What does it look like?" He responds. She folds her arms and looks at me, "who is this?" She asks. "She's my new friend. And I'll be home later. " He says. Suddenly the lady grabs my arm! "Hey!" I say. "How about now?" She asks Asher. "Fine! I'll go home. Just let her go." He says. I punch the lady in the stomach while she's distracted, she drops me and I quickly get up. "Run." I say as I run by Asher. He follows me and I pull out my panic button. I press the button and look behind us. The lady has caught up... and she looks angry! She grabs me again and drags me into an alley! "Um... ma'am... lemme go!" I say. Asher follows us, "mom! Please let her go!" He says. I start frantically pressing my panic button. Come on dad! Suddenly he runs up. "I heard ya the first time!" Dad says to me. The lady turns around and throws me down. "Ow... manners." I say, I try to get up and Asher runs over to help me. "Thanks." I say. He smiles, "your welcome." Then I notice her coming towards us, she tries to grab Asher but dad comes in and punches her. He quickly zooms her away from us. "I'm gonna go now." Asher says as he starts to walk off. "Wait." I say, he stops and turns to face me. "Do you wanna go to Jitters?" I ask. "Sure." He says. We start walking towards Jitters, "I didn't think you'd want to be around me... I mean I'm the reason you just got attacked." He says with a nervous chuckle. "It's not your fault. I tend to get myself in those situations..." I say with a smile. "How do you manage to do that?" He asks with a small laugh. "It's... complicated." I respond with a giggle. He smiles and I smile back. "So... do you know The Flash? I mean how did he know you were in trouble?" Asher asks. "I guess I was just lucky." I say and let out a nervous chuckle. "Oh." He says. "He's awesome, not as cool as Kid Flash though." I say, trying not to sound to full of myself. "Really? I'm not a big fan of Kid Flash." He says and shrugs his shoulders. I frown, "I'm kidding. I think Kid Flash is great. Aren't there two Kid Flashes?" He asks, I nod my head. "Yeah. Ones a boy and the new one is girl. I heard the new one goes by another name but no one really uses it." I say, and hope I'm not being suspicious... "oh. I've only heard of her being called Kid Flash." He says and shrugs his shoulder. I'm always stuck in someones shadow. First it was dad, and now it's Uncle Wally. We arrive at Jitters and when we walk in I notice Ralph sitting at a table, I hope he doesn't notice me. "I'll go get us a table." Asher says, I smile and nod. He walks away and I pull out my phone to text mine and the boys group text,
Emma- can I have a rain check on our hangout today?
Hunter- yeah
Eth- of course!
Gray- what happened?
Emma- I lost my speed... and as I was walking home I ran into that boy from earlier.
Hunter- oh...
Eth- I'm taking Buddy home with me!
Gray- have fun em.
Emma- thanks guys! Ok Eth, I'll pick him up tomorrow!
Eth- k
I put my phone away as I walk up to the counter, I order my coffee and walk to the table Asher chose. I sit down and take a sip from my drink. "So... what do you wanna talk about?" Asher asks. "Hmm... I don't know." I say. We both think for a minute, "what's your favorite color?" I ask, he chuckles, "well I like blue, and you?" He asks. "I like... either red or blue." I respond and smile. "Cool." He says, "so is your dad Barry Allen?" He asks. "Yep. So how do you know him?" I respond and take a sip of my drink. He let's out a nervous chuckle, "well I don't... really. My parents told me about him and that we might be related." He says. "Oh." I say, I think I know how too. I think to myself. "Yeah..." he says. "Well, he's a dork." I say and let out a giggle. He chuckles, and then Ralph walks up. "Hey E." He says, "hi Ralph." I respond, Asher looks up at him and smiles. Ralph looks down at him, "you look just like Barry..." he says with a chuckle, "I'm Ralph by the way." He adds and holds out his hand. Asher shakes his hand, "I'm Asher." He responds with a kind smile. "Well it's nice to meet you. Maybe I'll see you around." Ralph says and smiles at him.  "Nice to meet you too. And hopefully." Asher says. Ralph turns to me, "so E, I'll see you at S-T-A-R L-A-B-S."  Ralph says and winks at me. I facepalm and shake my head. "I can spell sir." Asher says. "Sure." Ralph says and walks out. "Why?" I ask out loud. "Does he think I'm an idiot?" Asher asks me. "I don't think so." I respond.  Asher giggles, "so what do you do at Star Labs?" He asks me. "Uh... nothing really." I say and let out a nervous chuckle, thanks Ralph. "Oh." Asher says like he doesn't believe me. I sip my coffee hoping he drops the subject. "So what do you do for fun?" He asks, oh this is worse... "I...uh... v-volunteer." I respond and give a fake smile. "You don't sound to sure." He says and raises an eyebrow. Geez, he looks just like dad. "So what about you? What do you do for fun?" I ask. " I'm into photography." He responds with a grin. "That's awesome!" I respond happily. I take a sip of my drink and glance over to the door. I almost spit my coffee out all over Asher when I notice my crush just walked in. "Oh no." I say outloud. "What?" Asher asks confused, I notion towards my crush. "Oh... do you have a crush on him?" Asher asks with a smug look on his face. I feel my cheeks begin to burn, "n-no." I say. Asher giggles, "oh, then why are you blushing?" He teases. I bury my face in my hands, "I'm not blushing." I argue. He laughs, "yeah you are." He says. I look up and see my crush walking over, nooo! "Hi Emma." He says, "heyy Nolan." I respond trying to keep my cool. I look at Asher and he has a smirk on his face. Nolan looks at Asher, "hi, I've never seen you before. I'm Nolan." He says and smiles. I try not to melt... "Asher." He responds. Nolan nods his head, "well I better be going. I'll see you later E." He says and walks away. I let out a sigh of relief, "I can breathe again." I joke. "He must not be one to talk." Asher says and raises his eyebrow again. He looks more like dad then the first time. "Yeah..." I say.