neighbors | barry allen//the flash

five | flash

Barry decided he hated winter in the city. The sun didn't stay out long to begin with, and all the buildings blocking out the light brought darkness way too soon for his liking. Although there had finally been a few interesting cases today, even one metahuman one, everything seemed to be a dead end. Cisco and Caitlyn started running a few tests, but the results wouldn't be clear until tomorrow, so the team had the night off. At least, until an emergency popped up. Barry guiltily wanted something exciting to make him forget how cold he was. 

Then he remembered Clara. 

Barry wasn't sure if he had ever been more embarrassed in his life, and growing up a scrawny science nerd had given him plenty of moments to be embarrassed about. He let the pizza burn in the oven. Not only did he let it burn, but it set off the smoke alarms. And the smoke alarms didn't just go off, they went off while he was over at Clara's, and of course, right as he was going to attempt asking her on a date. Yeah, last night was a giant mess of embarrassment, but at least it had made Clara laugh. That still didn't  change the fact she probably thought he was a massive idiot. Who forgets pizza? 

Barry was lost in thoughts of Clara when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to see it was Cisco calling. Maybe this meant his night was finally going to get interesting. A small smile tugged on his lips. 

"Hello?" Barry answered the phone. 

"So there's an armed robbery at that gas station by Jitters we always go to," Cisco alerted him. "I see three guys on the security cameras." 

"On my way." Barry was in and out of Star Labs and into his suit in a matter of seconds, headed to the gas station. Finally. It felt so good to be back in business. The rush he got while speeding couldn't compare to anything else. Before being struck by lightning, Barry had never really been much of a runner, or any kind of athlete at all, but he had heard of what people called a runner's high: an intense feeling of joy and accomplishment brought on by running, with the sensation they could run for miles. Barry wondered if what he experienced every time he ran was like that. He felt as if every cell in his body was buzzing with energy and purpose. The power and strength coursing through his body was infinite. He could run like this forever, and he wanted to. This is what was he was meant to do, this felt so right. 

Even though catching criminals was a very somber matter, Barry couldn't help but grin as he sped through the city. He was ready to kick some ass and have fun. He raced into the gas station and came to a sudden stop, casually leaning on the counter and assessing the situation. One of the robbers dressed in black had his arms full of liquor, another had a gun pulled, pointed at the cashier's head, and the other was shoving the cash from the register in to a black bag. 

"Do you guys live under a rock or something?" Barry teased the robbers. "Really, like everyone knows about me. Why'd you guys think you even have a chance?"

"Don't move or I'll shoot!" The robber holding the gun shouted. 

"Right," Barry retorted. But as the shot of the gun rang out, Barry ran to catch the bullet and swiped the gun from the robber. He came to a stop at the other side of the store, smirking as the robber's eyes widened at the sight of his empty hands. Out of the corner of his eye, Barry saw the other robber holding the booze pull out a gun and begin firing. Barry practically across the floor and plucked three bullets from the air. "Wow, you guys are really slow learners. I guess, against me, everyone kinda is. But you guys especially." 

This chase was beginning to bore him, and he was sure that the cashier wanted this ordeal to end as soon as possible. Barry went to work. He snatched the other gun, knocked out each of the robbers, and dragged them outside the store. He put all the stolen bottles back to their spots in the refrigerated shelves. Slowing down to a normal pace, he retrieved the bag of money and returned it to the cashier.

"The CCPD will be here soon, you're safe," Barry gave the poor old guy a reassuring smile. 

"Thank you," the cashier stammered. Barry didn't blame him, that guy had a rough night. Barry waved goodbye and sped back to Star Labs. 

"Well, that was easy," Barry stated as he sauntered up to the computers Cisco and Caitlyn were staring at. He wasn't even winded.

"Yeah, well, it was probably supposed to be," Caitlyn grimaced.

"What?" Barry asked, surprised and confused. 

"There was just also a robbery at the bank, and they took hostages," Caitlyn reported. 

"The gas station was probably just a distraction, to prevent you from showing up at the bank," Cisco frowned. 

"Why didn't you guys tell me? I could have been there by now." Barry demanded.

"Because we were watching over you at the gas station, like we were supposed to, and we just got the news of the bank a few moments before you got back here," Caitlyn defended herself and Cisco. "We were just doing our job." This stopped Barry for a second. She was right. He couldn't expect them to just leave him hanging. Their main concern was having his back, and he couldn't really afford to ask them to stop doing that. 

"There's still hostages?" Barry asked after he collected himself. 

"Yes, we don't know how many, and the robbers are armed," Cisco confirmed. 

"They usually are," Barry rolled his eyes and rushed out. When he got to the bank, he quickly analyzed the scene. Dozens of innocent citizens huddled on the ground, many of them crying or whimpering in fear, but no sign on the criminals. 

"They went up the elevator," one man cried out.

"Thanks," Barry gave him a nod, and rushed up the stairs. He searched every room on every floor until he burst into the room with hostages on the fifth floor. The hostages were bound in the middle of the room, and there was four of them. An old lady, a balding man, a younger man, and Clara.

Clara. 

Barry clenched his jaw, adrenaline and anger coursing through his arteries. This time, it didn't play and games, and he didn't hesitate before e took down the robbers guarding the hostages in mere milliseconds. They would be out for a little longer than his normal customers. He rushed the hostages outside the bank, where the CCPD was waiting. 

"Wait!" Clara cried to him, just as he was about to speed off. "Thank you," she breathed.

"Just doing my job," he turned to face her, blurring his face and masking his voice. "You're going to be okay, I promise. The police are here, they'll take care of you." She gave him a small nod, her eyes pleading with him, then threw her arms around him. Barry closed his eyes and whispered, "You're going to be okay." Then he sped off.