Flashette(A Barry Allen/Flash Fanfiction)

8

      Before my alarm clock had the opportunity to beep, my hand quickly pressed the shut off button. Today was the day Barry and I would start our S.T.A.R Labs training to explore our powers. I was a little nervous going in, considering it was a very dangerous job to be tasked with. I also was filled with a lot of doubt at first. But as the pieces started to fall in the place, it became more clear.
     Time to get up, Bar," I said as I got out of bed and got dressed. I put on my S.T.A.R Labs sweatshirt and sweatpants I was wearing the day I woke up, as well as a pair of Adidas running sneakers. I brushed my hair out and put it into a high ponytail before trotting down the stairs to my kitchen. Barry ended up staying over my house last night.
     I got myself a bowl of cereal and a glass of water before sitting at the counter and eating a few spoonfuls. I flipped through a magazine as Barry plodded down the steps. He too was wearing his S.T.A.R Labs outfit.
     "The outfit's perfectly fitting, right?" Barry asked as he approached the counter and planted a kiss to my cheek. He then poured himself a bowl of cereal and sat down beside me. I continued t look through the magazine: recipes, models, celebrity news.
    "Growing up I always wanted to be a famous singer...If a psychic had told me years ago that my future entailed working at S.T.A.R Labs as a superhero with super speed, I'd tell her she was insane and question her credibility." Barry laughed at my comment and placed a hand to my back. He began rubbing small circles.
    "What's meant to be is meant to be," Barry looked down at me with a smile.
   "I guess you could be onto something, Allen," I said with a half smile before getting up from my seat and placing my bowl and spoon in the sink. I closed the magazine and pushed my chair in before looking down at my phone.
     "If we don't leave soon we're going to be late". Barry finished his last spoonful and placed his bowl in the sink. I turned around to grab my coat off the coat hook and took my keys off the table.
     "Better warm up," Barry said as he stretched his legs and arms. "Hard work ahead". I playfully slapped Barry's chest and opened up the front door to be greeted with the crisp morning air. I then stepped outside and Barry followed, closing and locking the front door behind him.
     "Nothing like a good old 5 second speed run to S.T.A.R Labs to warm up our running legs..." I said as Barry and I walked down the grass of my front yard.
     "Sure isn't", Barry replied before Barry and I were off.
     Upon arrival into the cortex, the team was already hard at work. The three doctors were huddled around Cisco's computer screen, Cisco typing back and forth from monitor to monitor.
     "What's going on?" I asked as I approached them.
    "We were supposed to start you off slow with some training today, but you may have to just jump right in."
    "Excuse me?" I asked with raised eyebrows. "What's going on?". I crossed my arms and continued looking at the team as they continued working.
   "We've been tracking metahuman activity, which has been pretty quiet. Up until a few minutes ago, there's been an incident reported at Central City Bank".
    "And you're sure it's not just a robbery."
     "Cameras show footage of a man entering the bank 5 minutes ago. Facial recognition matches him to one Clyde Mardon." On one of the overhead screens, Clyde's profile was displayed. On another overhead screens, footage of Clyde holding out his hand and warping the atmosphere in the room.
    "He used his hands to produce one giant black cloud, serving as a distraction so he could go behind the counter...".
     "Excellent eye, Mr Allen," said Dr Wells. "CCPD has this place surrounded, but they won't be able to stop Clyde. There's citizens in there."
    "How about we call him the 'Weather...' uh-- 'Weather Man'...Scratch that, i'm sure I can come up with something better".
    "Now is not the time for fooling around, Cisco. What we need to do is come up with a way to drop the atmospheric pressure around him so his powers can't be used."
    "I can get right on that," Cisco said as he pulled up blueprints of the bank and began writing out logarithms.
   "He's threatening lives," I said as I pointed to the screen. On the screen a young girl cried in Mardon's arms. Her mom was pleading for her release. "We have to act fast. We don't have time to wait". I sped over to the suit closet and changed quickly. I then sped back to the center of the cortex and skidded. "I didn't fall when I stopped this time. Definitely an improvement," I said as I examined the suit I was wearing. After a few adjustments and Barry suiting up, we were off to the bank.
   In a matter of seconds Barry and I were speeding through the streets, cutting sharp corners and dodging death in the form of cars and buildings.
     "A few more blocks forward and take a left, the bank will be on your right," Cisco said through the earpiece within my mask. Sure enough, Cisco's directions were correct. Barry and I stopped for a split second to examine the scene. Police officers covered every inch of the front, cruisers blocking off the exit points and guns aimed at the building in all directions. "You should be able to burst right through the front before CCPD gets the change to aim," Cisco said into the earpieces once again.
    "I hope you're right," I said before speeding into front door of the bank. As we looked around, the scene was exactly the same as we saw on the monitors. Citizens huddled over in the corner, looking at Barry and I with scared facial expressions. Now, the little girl who was held by Mardon earlier on the camera footage was reunited with her mother, but had a few abrasions on her tear stained face. Unlike the footage, Mardon was nowhere to be seen. "Cisco, what do you see? Can you locate Mardon?" I asked.
     "Back room cameras are all inactive. Other than the front, you're fighting blind".
    "We better go look for him," Barry said before taking a few steps towards the corridor behind the bank teller counters. All activity was quiet, as if he was never here. I knew this wasn't the case, and Barry did too.
    "Are you all alright?" I asked as I looked over at the group of civilians huddled in the front corner of the bank. They screamed as I approached slowly with a hand in front of me. "I'm not gonna hurt you, you're alright. We're here to he--" I began before a loud crash erupted from the corridor where Barry previously entered. I got up from my crouching position at the group of citizens to see Barry flying through a large cloud of black smoke. With a thud, he hit the wall opposite to me and groaned. I wanted to do nothing but help him. He struggled to stand. I could see he was hurt, but I also didn't want to put the civilians in more danger.
    "Uh..." He said as he cocked his head. "Sidekick's down...What to do, what to do..." he placed a finger on his chin and wriggled his eyebrows in confusion, mocking me.
    "What do you want?" I asked sternly, taking a step towards him. "Whatever you want, i'm sure you don't have to hurt these innocent people."
    "I've already got what I wanted", Clyde said as he held up a giant bag filled to the brim with money. "Now it's just a matter of escape".
    "I can't let you do that, Mardon," I said confidently as I clenched my fists. Despite this confidence, I had no idea how I was going to approach this situation. I wasn't exactly prepared to be thrown into the fire my first day of what was supposed to be preliminary training.
     "You think i'm scared of two little kids playing dress up?" Clyde asked as he pointed his gun at the group of civilians on the floor. They screamed and cried louder as Clyde cocked the gun.
    "Barry, you have to get them out of here," I yelled as Barry managed to stand on his limp leg and sped the civilians to safety.
I had to act fast, and did the most logical option at that point: charge at Clyde. I quickly gripped the material of Clyde's coat and pushed him back against the bank countertop. I struggled for a moment to maintain my grip on him and he hit me in the head with his gun. I stumbled back a few feet away from Clyde and my vision became blurry. I could faintly see Clyde point his palms to the ceiling and thrust them upward. The stained glass ceiling shattered, and the fragments began to rain from overhead.
    "Try getting out of that one," Clyde said as he disappeared into the back. My vision was now even more blurry as I tried to avoid the glass shards that continued to pierce my body. I was able to shield my face and head, but there was no avoiding them.
    "Ch-Chloe...Th-cameras--nd--audio is out...What's--- Hello?". The pain coursing throughout my body was excruciating. Glass coated every inch of the lower half of my body, and I could barely move. I felt weak and collapsed onto the floor of the bank. I tried looking around for Clyde, but he was nowhere to be seen. He got away.
     "CHLOE!" I could hear Barry scream as he sped in from the back corridor of the bank. "The citizens are safe, but...I don't know what to do about this...". I could see Barry examining my body through squinted eyes. He tried a few different ways to pick me up, but I could see he didn't know how. "Clyde escaped, but Chloe's hurt. She's got glass all over her body. What do I do?" Barry asked in a panic.
    "You have to get her back quickly," I could hear Caitlin say faintly through the earpiece. "If she doesn't get back fast, she's going to heal with the glass in her skin, not to mention she's losing blood." Barry looked down at me.
    "Bar--J-just pick me up," I mumbled. He looked down at me.
    "I don't want to hurt you," he replied.
    "J-just do it." I felt Barry's arms wrap around my body and within a few moments I was off the ground.
    "On my way," I heard Barry say faintly before my vision became completely overcome with darkness and my body went limp.