Superflash: Far From Home

Chapter 15: Missing

Previously on Superflash: Far From Home

Her powers were back.

[...] As Kara flew above the night sky absorbed in her thoughts, she failed to notice a lone figure dressed in black with a blue lightning bolt on its chest standing on a building, watching her with a venomous smile on his face and a malicious glint in his eyes before he disappeared in a trail of blue lightning, cloaked by the darkness of shadows that arose during the night.

Everything was going according to plan.

***

Kara was missing and Barry was seconds away from ripping out his hair in his panicking state.

He had come to visit Kara one last time before he retired for the night after his usual night patrol, knowing beforehand that the Cortex would be empty due to Cisco and Caitlin calling it a day a few hours prior his patrol.

It had almost become a routine, his patrols in Central City had drastically increased since the incident with Kara as he didn't want to take anymore chances in meta's harming those important to him. After his nightly patrol, he would sit with Kara for a little while and hold her hand, taking comfort in the steady beat of her heart detected by the heart monitor as well as the rise and fall of her chest that had been barely moving when he had brought her in three days ago.

He remembered the huge relief he felt when Caitlin came out of the med bay with a tired smile on her lips, holding her thumb up to indicate that Kara would live. She had told him that it was a miracle that she had managed to survive an attack like that, for surely it would've killed a normal person most of the time.

"She's a fighter." Caitlin had told him before walking out of the Cortex to change out of her blood stained clothes.

After that, Kara's body started to recover fast, especially during day time, at which point had made Caitlin skeptical as normally it would've taken person in Kara's condition at least three weeks for the injuries and wounds to heal. Barry though, thought nothing of it, and thanked all his lucky stars that Kara would be alright.

Still the image of Kara dying during the incident would never leave his mind whenever he closes his eyes, so Barry always sits with Kara for a while after his night patrols to reassure himself that she was still alive and breathing, most often than not falling asleep by her bedside.

Today was no different, Barry had stopped yet another meta that had set his sight on targeting Central City's Flash only to be throw in jail by the said hero, stopped four bank robberies, got yelled at by his Captain in CCPD for not completing his paperwork on time before going on his night patrol to scour the city for anymore threats and coming back to sit beside Kara to hold her hand after he finished...

...Only to find the said woman missing with the broken needle connected to the IV bag that had been used to supply her body its nutrients, laying on the floor and the table beside her bed smashed into smithereens. Not to mention the wide open window that the person who kidnapped Kara must have surely used to steal Kara away from her place in the med bay.

But Barry for the life of him can not figure out how the person made it through the window in the first place, the floor in which the med bay was in was pretty high up to climb from the outside in a ladder and he had already checked the trees near the window for any marks left behind by the kidnapper only to find none, leaving him with absolutely no information about Kara's whereabouts or that of her kidnapper's.

Which leads to Barry current, frustrated predicament as he paced across the halls of STAR labs in thought as Cisco and Caitlin working their hardest in trying to locate their friend, succeeding with no luck so far.

Cisco had earlier on in the day removed the camera's surrounding STAR labs for an upgrade, satisfied that the lab would be safe by the intruder detecting security system he had installed the day before that consists of alarms and lasers at the entrance for safety measures. But it seems that no matter the upgrade in STAR labs security system, people always find a way to break into the said lab.

At this point, it is a miracle that the citizens of Central City haven't yet stormed into the Flash's so called 'secret' and 'precautious' hideout and displayed it to the whole world like a famous museum monument.

God, Cisco hoped that it wouldn't come to that, that would be a hell of a disaster and would create an even bigger mess of things and the last thing they need is more problems considering that Central City happened to be a trouble magnet.

Barry's panicking state did not help Cisco and Caitlin's mood whatsoever, they were tired, sleepy, worried and did not need Barry's irritating pitter patter of his feet as he paced, resounding through the Cortex in a ringing echo. Finally, Caitlin couldn't take it anymore and just snapped.

"Barry, WOULD YOU STOP DOING THAT!"

Barry whipped around to face Caitlin with anger in his eyes as his face turned red from fury. His hands clenched in fists as he shouted back at Caitlin, his frustrations and desperation clearly heard in his voice.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT ME DO? KARA IS MISSING! WE HAVE NO IDEA WHERE SHE IS, NO IDEA WHO TOOK HER, NO IDEA HOW HE GOT TO HER IN THE FIRST PLACE AND NO IDEA WHAT HE NEEDS HER FOR OR WHAT IS HAPPENING TO HER RIGHT THIS MOMENT AS WE SPEAK! WE. HAVE. NO. IDEA! NOT EVEN A SINGLE CLUE! AND YOU WANT ME TO JUST SIT AROUND, DO NOTHING AND ACCEPT THE FACT THAT SHE'S GONE?!"

Caitlin stalked forward toward Barry and poked him harshly on his chest as tears of rage and pain brimming her eyes as she thought of her missing best friend.

"I GET THAT YOU ARE WORRIED, WE ALL ARE TOO, WE LOVE HER TOO! BUT YOU PANICKING AND SHOUTING IS NOT HELPING US FIND KARA! SO GO OUT THERE AND ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING OR SHUT UP SO THAT CISCO AND I CAN WORK ON LOCATING KARA!"

Barry glared at her for a minute before deflating against the wall with a sigh, hiding his face in his hands.

"I don't want to lose her again."

Caitlin closed her eyes and took a few deep, calming breaths before placing a gentle hand on his slumped shoulder while speaking in a gentle voice, the anger from before disappearing as it gave way to concern and distress.

"And you won't lose her, we will find her."

Barry didn't reply or react to Caitlin's statement, simply holding his head in his hands as he adopted a defeated posture. Caitlin bent her head down toward the level of his head and tried to pry away his hands to no avail.

"Besides, she's a fighter remember?"

Barry removed his hands and looked at Caitlin with such a lost look in his eyes that she felt her heart break for her friend. Pulling him into a hug, Caitlin rubbed his back in comfort as Barry hid his face in Caitlin's shoulder. Cisco watched the exchange from the corner of his eye, focusing on locating Kara as he searched through the surveillance footage of Central City's security camera's, trying to swallow the lump in his throat in fear for the woman who had quickly become one of his closest friends in a short amount of time.

Kara seemed to have that affect on people. She is just so optimistic, sunny and good that it is just impossible to not like her.

Cisco prayed and hoped to God that wherever Kara was, that she was safe. He wouldn't know what to do if she was anything other than fine. He didn't know what Caitlin and Barry would do, especially Barry, since both had become awfully attached and protective of the young, blonde woman.

Cisco was brought out from his thoughts as a beep sounded from his computer. Eyes filled with hope, Cisco pulled up the footage only for his heart to drop to his stomach as he took in the trail of blue lightning captured by one of the security camera's on fifth main street before it disappeared in the shadows. He heard Barry inhale a breath as Caitlin gasped in horror from behind him, having moved towards the computer after they too heard the beep sound coming from it.

Barry narrowed his eyes at the footage, his teeth gritted in outrage, growling with animosity as he spit out the name he had come to hate passionately, only second to Thawne.

"Zoom."

***

Word Count: 1498