Chapter Text
He wakes propped up in a corner, a blanket lying at his feet. The room looks big, filled with various machines some of which have the casing broken open with jagged corners, their guts spilling out cables all over the floor.
The temperature is low enough to give him goosebumps, even after Barry swaddled himself up in the blanket. May be the spooky atmosphere.
With no lights on Barry could hardly make out any designs. On the walls or anywhere else. There was only the repetitive sound of a drop hitting the floor and forming a puddle. By the smell lingering in the air it was not water.
Barry decided to go and figure out if he wanted to know later.
When he finally managed to leave what happened to be a severely damaged and dusty Star Labs Barry emerged into a different reality than the one he expected.
One half of the sky was showplace of the biggest storm he had ever seen while the rest was nearly windless and only sporadically spotted with clouds. The air felt nearly electric. Also a lot of buildings were structurally damaged by what looked like explosives or excessive kinetic force. He swears he saw a handprint in that one stone.
The storm suddenly started to eat up the whole sky and Barry looked at the sweater he had ditched the blanket for, back at the dark clouds and huffed. When the rain started falling he wrapped his arms around his middle and jogged in the direction of his flat.
The further he got from Star Labs the more people he saw, huddled like him and running to shelter. No one had weather appropriate clothing so the freak storm must have been unexpected. Barry tripped and suddenly he stood in an undamaged quarter. He turned around. His flat was way behind him.
A women out walking her dog stared at him in horror. The beagle barked up a storm, fletching his teeth in Barry’s direction, eyes wide with fear. Surprised Barry took a step back.
Eyes on Barry the owner tightened her leash dragging her pet to her side.
“Please don’t hurt him. Or me. You want money?”
She started fumbling with her bag, letting the insides drown in the rain to get her purse.
Barry watched the scene unfold, eyebrows slowly getting so high they vanished behind his hair. The dog sneezed between his barking and broke him out of his stupor.
“No! Please, don’t. I don’t want anything – just going home.”
The woman did not stop searching for her money.
The dog did not stop barking.
Barry slowly backed a few steps away. Then he turned and started running to his flat again. This time he managed to get home. Thanking greedy owners for poor locks he jiggled his front door open, his keys god knows only where.
His father would never find out about that feature of his flat.
Iris got home to an empty house. Not caring that she tracked mud all over the floor she went straight to the kitchen, took one of her dad’s beers out of the fridge and sat down on the tiles.
She stared at her left forearm where the guy had touched her. She stared at her own hand that had touched the other guy. She drank her dad’s beer.
If it weren’t for the slight tingling feeling underneath her skin she would think it was a dream.
Iris groaned, her head tipping back and looking at the ceiling.
“How am I gonna tell dad that I have two soul mates and that I am very certain one of them is dangerous? He is gonna flip out so bad he will –“
Iris stopped, swallowed and started crying.
“If only you could flip out dad.”
The grip she had on the beer tightened as she continued to drip water and tears all over the floor.
“I miss you.”
The room was filled with the sound of thunder and rain and Mick's humming.
“Where is my brother, Mick?” Lisa draped herself across the back of the couch appraising her nails.
“Around.” Came the gruff reply. “He’s gonna be pissed you came here.”
“Should I have missed all this crazy?” She asked, hopping up to sit on top of the couch and fixing her gaze on the big man crouched over the table tinkering with something. Probably explosive. “A girl needs some fun in her life. It’s not fair if the boys hog all the adventures.”
“I don’t care. Give me the green wire.”
“Get it yourself.” Came Len’s voice from the entrance. “Sis, how unsurprising to find you here.”
“Lenny!” Lisa called out hopping down from the couch, walking to her brother. “It’s been too long. Time for a little family bonding and fun fights with freaks.”
“And what fun fights that will be.” Len said, walking into the room and putting the cold gun on the table. “Look at this beauty, sis. It’s a technological marvel.”
“And pretty banged up. As are you.” She said, letting her gaze sweep over her brother and catching the slightly burned coat, the way he kept flexing his fingers and a bleeding gash on his leg. “Got into a fight without me?”
“You know I am hopeless without you around. Nothing like a train wreck to keep you on your toes.”
“You say the sweetest things, jerk. Need some bandaging?”
“Later. First I have to look at the gun and see if it’s damaged. Don’t want that exploding here. All this priceless stuff could get destroyed.” Len said with a light smile coloring his words.
“Hey, my flat is fine. Except the bathroom. That you can blow up. Or I might.” Mick considered and moved around some of his things so Len had more room on the table. “You got that intel?”
Len nodded and started taking his gun apart, going careful over every fuse and wire. “Looks safe.”
“Good. Then you can show me your wound and let nurse Lisa do her magic.” Came her voice from the bathroom. “I got the first aid kit.” She said, walking back to them. “And if no one gets there first I blow up that thing. That room is a pit.”
Barry stepped inside and promptly sneezed as the dust in the air tickled his nose. The whole apartment was dusty. The part of his brain he used for work started analyzing the scene as if it were a crime scene.
A crime scene that had been abandoned months ago. Everything was where it was supposed to be, only hidden underneath a layer of dust. Clearly some time has passed since Barry had been there last.
Testing his luck he switched on a lamp. It worked so the electricity was still on. Next he walked to his bathroom testing the water. Relieved to find that still running too he did what needed to be done. Get a shower.
He was cold and already wet, feet muddy and wanted to feel human again.
Barry also wanted to look at that rash that itched like crazy on his shoulders.
Getting out of the soggy sweater he used it to wipe the mirror clean, and stopped halfway through. The first swipe was at the height of his shoulders and that clearly was no rash.
No, what it was, was a rapidly forming soul print.
Barry continued the wipe until he also saw his left shoulder.
And a second soul print.
The sweater made a thump as it fell on top of the sink and started dripping from there to the floor and his bare feet.
Barry just continued to stare at both of the prints. He could see them getting clearer and bigger and forming a perfect replica of the first time his soul mates touched him. Which should be impossible because it took months to form.
But here they were. One on his right side other on the left, both contrasting Barry’s pale skin as they now were made out of the skin cells of his mates.
His two soul mates.
He had been marked by two people, roughly at the same time and Barry did not remember anything at all. That was not normal. But it fit in with everything else weird around him and somewhere there must be an explanation for all of it. Perhaps this weird would even help him understand the weird surrounding the man in the lightning.
One could only hope.
After they had cared for their equipment and ate Len got himself a beer. Mick got himself a candle with his. The world had gone crazy since the last time the three of them had been together but some things never changed.
“From what some people are saying you get the feeling it’s the apocalypse. No way was I letting something like the quarantine zone keep me from that.” Said Lisa, a big smile on her face.
“How did you get past Eiling’s men and into the city?” Len asked.
“All above board. Drove a food truck straight through the check point. But you know that it’s more about keeping people in, than it is about hindering you from entering.” She sounded smug.
“So it’s not a possible exit strategy.” Said Mick.
“I did not say that. I got a permit to get out. Truck gotta get back to its owner somehow.” She winked in Mick’s direction.
“Brilliant.”
Lisa turned back to her brother. “What about you, Lenny? You keep fiddling with your hands and are distracted. Something bothering you?”
Len stilled and started to say something, only to lose his voice. Lisa sat up straighter and Mick looked up from the candle while he cleared his throat.
“I might have met someone. And someone else.” He started fiddling with his hands again his voice void of the usual drawl.
“Did they get the drop on you?” Mick asked, narrowing his eyes.
“No, nothing like that. They were, well, one is in a coma. I think.” He looked to his left, as if to remember something elusive.
“You think? What about the other one?” Lisa questioned one brow arched high and watching Len’s every expression like a hawk.
“Said she works at Jitters.”
“How did you meet a coffee person in Star Labs?” Was Mick’s next question.
“What were you doing in Star Labs?” interrupted Lisa.
“Our guns got stolen from there. I went to get some intel, maybe find out who build them. That sort of thing. Perhaps also get some info on the explosion, they certainly know more than they publicly admit. Security is shoddy, by the way. A toddler could rob it.” The drawl was back in Len’s voice by the end of the sentence.
“And?” Lisa asked, after Len had paused too long, smirk back in action.
“Blackout walked in hell bent on revenge on Wells. Something about turning him into a killer? I don’t know. By that time I was already in the cortex. They have a guy in there, hooked up on monitors, laying on a hospital bed. I had already started the computer to get what I could, ignoring him as this girl walks in.”
Len made a short pause.
“Actually she walked in before the meta made his presence known hollering through the building.”
Len took his beer and nearly finished it in one go.
“She thought I work there, and that I let her in. In a way I did, I had disabled the locks and alarms. Asked some questions herself. I made her my lookout in exchange for her silence and some of the data I got. She asked me to meet her tomorrow during her shift at Jitters as the lights start flickering and the hollering starts. Guess I let Blackout in too.” He drank the rest of the beer and put it back on the table.
“Blackout is of course on his way to us and did not sound reasonable. So girl and I grab coma guy and hide him. I tell her to run while I lure the meta away from them, hence the fight.”
“And why would you risk yourself for two strangers?” Lisa asked, exchanging glances with Mick.
“I -” Len faltered again. He looked at his hands for a moment then took a breath and continued. “Because I marked them. Both of them.”
Lisa’s jaw dropped and Mick dropped the beer he had been holding.
“Come again?” He asked.
“I found my soul mate. Turns out I got two.”
Lisa snorted at that.
“You were never one to do things by half.” she said. “Of course you would get the double deal. I’m happy for you. Are you -?” her voice trailed off and Mick got off his stool.
“I need more beer for this. Anyone else need more beer?”
“All the beer, please.” Was Len’s answer to that question.
“Don’t ignore me, Lenny. How are you dealing with this?”
“Truthfully? I am still unsure. I mean, what is the deal with coma guy? Is he sick? Is he a meta, is he -?” now his voice trailed off. Len turned to look at his sister eyes widening in horror. “Do you think they are using him as a lab rat?” A tremble was creeping into his voice. “I need to look at that data I got. Now.”
Len stood up and left the table just as Mick got back with a whole lot of beer.
“Len!” Lisa called after him.
“Not now!” came the reply and with that Len vanished into his room, laptop that had been running a program to decode the files on the USB stick in hand.
“Give me that damn beer, Mick. We are not going to see him for hours now.”
Eobard came back to an even more damaged lab, Barry Allen nowhere to be found. Lightning bled into his eyes. Within moments he was in the time chamber looking at the security footages.
The normal ones had been disabled but no one would have looked for his own cameras. He scoffed as Leonard Snart walked into the frame, that thrice cursed cold gun at his side. If he had less control he would have throttled Cisco for building that thing instead of just firing him.
Cold walked into the cortex going straight to the computer, ignoring what would become his rival on the hospital bed. Things got interesting as soon as soon as Miss West walked onto the scene.
They talked and Eobard watched them strike a deal as the image on the screen began to flicker. On another camera feed he just made out Blackout before it went dead.
The ones in the cortex still worked though.
He saw the exact moment they realized what was happening, Snart going for his gun while Miss West stepped back deeper into the room. The images started flickering and the sound was lost but he did see them finally acknowledge Barry Allen, rushing to him and lifting him out of the bed to take him to safety.
With wonder he watched the initial touch, Miss West pausing briefly in her actions before the feed went completely dark.
Miss West’s touch must have brought Allen out of the coma, which meant that he either was with her or back in his own flat.
“Gideon, show me the newspaper.”
It appeared, the text had changed completely but the picture was the same. The Flash would still vanish. The time line was still on curse.
His way home was closer than ever.
From what Barry had gathered ten months had passed. From his mail he knew he was still fired – vanishing to Starling and meeting the arrow had been one vanishing too much – but as he had been injured – struck by lightning holy shit that must have hurt – while cleaning out his work space the CCPD had kept paying him a small wage for a few months. Six to be exact.
And while he had been in a coma his food had rotted in the fridge and the news stories changed to something straight out of a comic. With men creating hurricanes and having skin turn to steel he could finally get new evidence in his father’s case. Men in lightning sounded much more possible next to all the other things happening in Central right now.
He had to visit Iron Heights as soon as possible.
And find out why he was in Star Labs and not a clinic as well as find a new job.
And find his soulmates.
And perhaps later on figure out where the abs came from.
Barry clicked out of the open tabs he had in his browsers to email Felicity. He would have called, but his phone was as absent as his keys. Seconds after he had hit sent Felicity skyped him.
“Barry! So good to see you awake.” Her face filled up the entire screen, bright smile on her face.
“You too.” Barry moved forward to prop his chin up on the table, directly in front of his laptop. “Has it really been ten months?”
“Feels like longer. Has Cisco brought you up to date with whatever is happening in Central?”
“Cisco?”
“Not him? Caitlin then? Or Wells?” Felicity asked.
“Whom are you talking about?” Barry furrowed his brow.
“
“You know, the people at Star Labs..” Felicity trailed off as Barry just kept looking at her. Then he sat up straight again.
“You know why I was there?”
“Didn’t they tell you?”
“No one was there. I woke up alone and the place was trashed, so I went home.” Barry shrugged.
“Only you Barry.” She smiled. “There was really no one in the cortex with you?”
Barry shock his head no. “What was I doing there anyways? And for how long was I there?”
“You really know nothing then. That’s gonna be fun.”
“Well, I read up on the news just now. All these impossible things happening all over the place. It’s awesome!”
“I thought you would like that!” both looked at each other, grins on their faces so wide their eyes crinkled. “Man, what I wouldn’t give to see some of that in action, but Oliver doesn’t want to risk it. That spoilsport.”
“That does sound like him. How is he?”
“Oh, you know him. Still doing the arrow thing. He will be so glad to hear you woke up. Diggle too.”
“So you know what happened to me? I read that I got hit by lightning while the particle accelerator exploded – what happened then?”
“Well, they found you a few hours later and you got sent to a hospital. But you kept flatlining and your insurance wouldn’t cover any more of your bills. We would have stepped up, but before Oliver could offer Dr. Wells came and negotiated for you to be treated at his lab. Apparently he was in the same clinic as you and heard about your case. Said something about his responsibility and the chance to give something back to the people of the City.”
“The Harrison Wells?”
“I know, right? He’s awesome. And surprisingly hot. As are you. Guys out of comas should not look that good Barry. What did they do to you there? Give you daily Spas and work outs? Caitlin did not write about that in her reports.”
“You read my reports? Of course you did.” Barry leaned forward. “Can you find out why I woke up alone at Star Labs?”
“Let me check if I can find something on their servers. Hm, they are down. Looks like this is part of the town Blackout struck on his rampage today.”
“He is the one that sucks up the electricity around him, right? That would explain why all the lights were out. But not why I woke up on the ground. I am so luckily my flat wasn’t in the affected area. At least the food in the freezer is still eatable. I cannot say the same about whatever is in my fridge.”
“Oh, I forgot about the food! How bad is it?”
“You don’t want to know. Forget?”
“Oh, I paid your rent so you would still have this place to come back to. Sorry for hacking into your account by the way. I checked if there were pets that needed to be fed but totally forgot about checking your fridge…” she trailed of.
“You are the best Felicity. Thank you.”
“No problem man, what are friends there for? Now, what are your powers?” she leaned forward, looking eager into the camera.
“Mine?”
“Yes yours, Barry. You got hit by the dark matter explosion while being struck by lightning. That sounds like what happened to the other meta humans out there. Also your doctor wrote some surprising things about your cells in her reports.”
“I, I don’t know. There was that time I ran really fast through the city, like, I don’t really remember the trip, but I completely bypassed my flat. And the lady I met there was afraid of me? I think? Her dog kept barking.”
“Hm, let me search the meta sighting platform for something like that. Happened today? And which neighborhood?”
“A few hours ago. And up on Fortune Street.”
“Ah, there we have it. Caucasian male, young and thin came at this woman in a blur, spooked her pet and ran off. Wrote that you appeared there from one second to the next. Says you wanted to rob her but her dog scared you off. So your possible weakness is listed as canines.”
“I did not want to rob her! She wanted to give me her money! Not that I took any, I got out of that situation before she found her purse. Also her dog was tiny. No way would I be afraid of it.”
“You sure? The little ones are said to bite the most. But there you have it. You blurred up to her. What is it? Super walking?”
“I don’t think so. It felt like everyone stopped and I was the only thing moving. I thought I tripped!”
“Do you trip often from one place to the next?”
“Shut up. It’s not like I knew about metas at that time. Perhaps I slow the world around me?”
“Or you speed yourself up. In her reports Caitlin says that you have just about rapid everything. Apparently your heart goes so fast the machines back at the hospital couldn’t pick it up.”
“Super speed, huh.”
“Awesome. I want to see you in action.” A serious expression came over Felicity’s face. “But Barry, be careful. There are a lot of people afraid right now. Like nearly all the people and some crack pots saying you are alien experiments or what else they can think of. And the military is doing some shady things there too, as far as I can tell. Like real experiments not conducted by aliens.”
“You mentioned two people. Caitlin and-?”
“Cisco. They are like the only people left working in Star Labs. But you don’t have to fear them, they are cool. Cisco is also hilarious.”
“Can I see a picture of them?”
“Sure, here they are.”
Barry sighed. “So it’s not them. Are you certain that they are the only ones working there?”
“Except from Wells? Pretty much, yeah. After the blow up the people left like rats running from a sinking ship. Who were you expecting?”
“I don’t know. Someone with black skin.”
“Barry, is there something you are not telling me?”
He nodded and stood up. “I also woke up with this.”
Barry took off his shirt and showed off his soul prints.
Felicity just stared for a second.
“Barry! You have soul prints! That is something you tell me immediately. And a double deal at that. Why wasn’t that in your medical reports? It’s not something you can miss.”
“That’s the thing. I think I got them just before I woke up. Perhaps the initiating touch was what woke me up.” Barry put his shirt back on.
“But they are fully formed. It takes months for that to happen.”
“You just said I speed myself up. I watched them change in the mirror. I could see them form, Felicity.”
Both just looked at each other letting that sink in. Felicity blinked slowly.
“You have no idea whom they belong to.” It was a statement not a question.
“Not a single clue. Except for the skin tone, but that doesn’t exactly narrow it down, does it?”
She snorted. “In a city as big as Central? No it doesn’t.”
“Can you help me find them?”
“I’ll see what I can do. Oh, the servers came back online. Let me just hack into the security cameras. Hm, interesting.” She kept typing at a speed only reachable to people who spent a good portion of their time doing just that.
“What did you find?”
“They and the alarm got disabled shortly before the blackout happened. Let me check one of the security cameras in the streets before the entrance. And there we have it. A guy breaking in, let me see if I can get his face. Hm, not here. Also not here. Guy is a pro but you haven’t been stalked by Felicity Smoak before. I will stalk you back all the way until yessss, there it is! A face. And what a pretty face it is. Let me run it through the police data base and look at that! We have a match. One Leonard Snart.”
She showed Barry the mug shot.
“What a pretty face and what a long rap sheet. You think he is one of your prints?”
“I don’t know. Could be. Name is even worse than mine, so that would match. He was at least there so he could have seen something.”
“There is something else you should know, Barry. Some days ago he got himself a moniker for a very high profile heist. Captain Cold. I don’t think he is a meta, he has some kind of gun. That shoots ice. Man, and I thought Star City was crazy.”
“So? How did your trip to Frankenstein’s lab go?” Greeted Emily Iris as she got to Jitters that morning. “Still got all your limbs?”
The smell of coffe was already heavy in the air, sweeping from the store too the break room in the back.
“Very funny, Ems. Please, can you make me a cup before my shift starts? I need all the caffeine I can get.” Iris put her bag on a chair and reached for an apron while Emily walked out of the break room. She had a steaming cup ready for Iris when she joined her behind the counter.
Then she started making her own cup.
“But really Iris. Talk to me. Did you get your questions answered?”
Iris sighed. “No. No one was there and then Blackout attacked.”
Emily looked up from what she was doing, whipping her head around to look at her friend. “Did you see him? He is known to leave charred corpses behind. Oh Iris, are you sure you are okay?”
“I will be once I finish my coffee. Can you do me a favor? I need a longer break today and I don’t know when. Will you cover for me?”
“I can do that. Tell me why, though?”
“I am meeting a guy here but I don’t know when he will be by.” A smile crept up on Iris’ face.
Emily went back to make her own Latte. “A guy, huh? That pretty detective that keeps coming back to order from you?”
“Eddie? No. You know he was my dad’s last partner, there is nothing between us.” She paused. “Although he is pretty. Did you know some of his coworkers call him Detective pretty boy?”
“No way, really? Cops man, a bunch of kindergarteners the whole lot of them.”
“Don’t I know it. The guy I am meeting is – can you keep a secret?” Iris set her mug down and leaned against the counter, arms crossing.
“Do you have to ask? You know I won’t tell on you.”
“I think he is a thief.” She whispered, looking around to make sure they were alone. Which they were, Jitters was not yet open.
“What!” Emily looked at her in surprise. “Why would you meet -? Wait, how did you end up arranging a meeting with a possible thief?”
“He was there, yesterday. Safed me from Blackout with his strange ice shooter, so I guess he is a good guy.” She bit her lip.
Emily sighed.
“Iris. I know you only read news about meta humans since Kyle Mardon killed your father, but please tell me you know who Captain Cold is.”
Iris tiled her head slowly. “No. Should I? Is he famous?”
“Well yes. Made the front papers a few days back with an exceptional robbery only possible due to his `ice shooter´. Is said to be one of the best thieves out there, if you can believe the press.” Emily closed her eyes briefly, then fixed her friend with a steady gaze. “Iris, he is dangerous. Whatever he promised you, please don’t talk to him if he comes by.”
“I cannot do that, Ems. He got some info on meta humans. And he will not harm me, I promise you.”
Emily went up to her and grabbed Iris on her upper arms. “Iris, you cannot be sure of that.”
Iris smiled and leaned slightly down to look into her eyes.
“Well, keep another secret for me Ems?”
Emily nodded, mouth in an unhappy twist.
“He marked me.” She said with a bright smile coloring her words.
“No way!” Emily shook her, keeping Iris firmly in her grip.”
“Yes way! That is not all, I am in a triad. Got a double deal.”
Iris got pulled down, so Emily could look her straight in the face again.
“Now you are pulling my leg. Iris, tell me you are pulling my leg.”
She shook her head.
“No can do.”
Emily let go of Iris only to immediately hug her to her chest squeeling.
“Those are rare, you know. And to meet both at the same day is stuff out of romance novels. Teenage me would be so jealous. Skip that, I am jealous. What about the third person?” She let Iris go, eagerly waiting for the answer.
“Also a man. But I don’t know much more, he was in a hospital bed inside the Labs.” Iris straightened out her clothes.
Now Emily crossed her arms.
“I thought no one was there to let you in, how did you get there? And why don’t you know more? Is he not coming to this date here?”
Iris shook her head.
“First; Captain Cold was there before me. And as I just learned that he is in fact a thieve I guess he left the doors open for me. Second; the one in the hospital bed was in a coma, I think. Certainly did not react to anything going on around him. I think he is one of the meta humans, why else would he be there?” she let herself fall back against the counter.
Emily groaned and leaned on the counter beside her.
“Let’s hope he is not a dangerous one too. That part is already filled by your not comatose soul mate. This really is the stuff out of romance novels.” She looked at her friend. “Mind if I take some ideas?”
A laugh escaped Iris. “Sure. Just don’t make us too recognizable.”
Emily brandished her finger against her. “You know I write inspired by reality but totally anonymous stories. I learned from my mistakes and will not be sued again.” She looked at the clock. “Shift starts now, let’s see if your Captain shows.”
Iris groaned.
“We are near the CCPD, we are full of cops. I did not know he was a criminal, do you think he will come?”
Emily, on her way to open the front door looked back at her over her shoulder. “For you? Of course. No way would someone let a bombshell like you slip through their fingers.”