𝐈𝐧 𝐀 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡... (𝘗. 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳)

Part 11

Winter

Bailey laughs as her father rabbles on the ladder, trying to put an ornament on the tree. "You could help you know." Bailey shakes her head. "Nah, it's too fun watching you struggle." Tony rabbles heavily, and then falls flat on his ass. Bailey bursts out laughing. "Hey! It's hard!" Bailey smiles and gives him a look, and before Tony can even protest Bailey runs around the tree decorating at super speed. She flops down on the couch. "Whew I'm beat." She pretends to fan her self. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Tony stands and points at Bailey. "The only red suit I want in this Tower is Santa, you got that?" Bailey scoffs and looks at the red Iron Man suit in the corner. "Uh huh..." Tony grabs a blanket and drapes it over his suit, casually leaning against it. Bailey shakes her head.

Bailey smiles as she walks into her school. It was snowing and she was greatful to get out of the cold. Her face lights up when she sees her friends. "Hey Ned! Hey Peter!" They greet her in return, and Bailey raises an eyebrow, when Peter stares at her. She glances at Ned who elbows Peter. He shakes his head and looks away. Bailey swear she sees him turn red. "Oh!" Bailey reaches into her back pack and pulls out 3 wrapped gifts. She hands one to Peter and Ned. They stare at her in shock. "Merry Christmas. Don't open them until Christmas morning though!" Ned beams at her. "But... We didn't get you anything..." Bailey smiles and shakes her head at Peter. "You didn't have to. I got crazy at Christmas. I got that from my mom." Bailey smiles sadly, but perks up when class starts.

After school Bailey had gone to the mall in search of Christmas gifts for the other Avengers. She had found a perfect gift for Bruce, and Steve. The others, well, their gifts were more related to their alter egos. She was in the parking garage now, and was about to run off when she caught eye of someone staring at her. Once they saw her watching her they turned around a corner. Bailey, her curiosity getting the better of her follows until she caught them in a corner. "Who are you-" Bailey trailed off in her words as her stalker turned around and was suddenly on fire. They approached Bailey and before they could touch her she sped away. She leaned against a wall confused. Another meta?

Bailey let the encounter slide and decided to save the meta drama until after Christmas. Now the Avengers and her were seated in the common room eating dinner. That is, until Bailey phone chimed. They all look at her as her expression falls. She glances at her father with a sigh. "It's Thawne. Double homicide and attempted robbery at Mercury Labs and their normal CSI is sick." Tony sighs and nods. "Go. Just be back as soon as you can." Bailey nods and runs off.

Bailey is crouched over one of the bodies, when Detective Thawne walks up to her. "What do you got?" Bailey stands. "The blood spatter patterns and trajectory of the remains..." Bailey pauses, calculating her words. "Only a high speed collision could have done this." Thawne nods then thinks to himself for a moment. "The witness says all he saw was a blur." Bailey's eye widen. "No. The Flash didn't do this." Thawne raises an eyebrow. "And you know this how...?" Bailey's mouth gapes. "I mean- I don't- it's just... the Flash... She's a hero." Thawne raises an eyebrow and guides Bailey over to the witness. "Tell miss Allen here what you saw." The man gapes momentarily. "Uh, I mean, like a-a man in some sort of yellow suit." Bailey mind ceases function. A man in a yellow suit? No... it couldn't be.

10 Years Ago

Young Bailey wakes with a start. She pauses for a moment then hears a crash coming from downstairs. She jumps out of bed and runs to the source. On the floor in the middle of the room was her mother, screaming and crying with what looked like a ball of lightning around her. "Mommy!" Nora Allen spots her daughter and reaches for her. "Bailey! Run Baby, run!" Bailey freezes in place as what looked like a man in a yellow suit stared at her briefly, before disappearing back into the lightning. "Mommy!" A vase falls and breaks. "Bailey!" Bailey briefly sees a knife get plunged into her mother's chest, then suddenly she was no longer in the house, but 20 blocks from it. She takes in where she is and runs home.