I'll Be There In a Flash ⚡ Barry Allen

Chapter 16 - "Keep the gloves on Pikachu....."

A day off from work.

Normally I would have been curled up under a blanket and starting another Netflix marathon but today's different. I've got actual friends now.

I've known Felicity for almost six....maybe seven years. But other than her and Ronnie, I've never really been close to anyone. People just didn't understand me, even in high school and I was never one of the popular ones. People made fun of me, but I was never afraid to shoot back with the same fire. And plus when I got my computer out.......let's just say no one around me understood what I was doing on it until I got into college.

So naturally people tended to steer clear of me and I was fine with it. It's the reason Lici...sorry, Felicity always called me Ms. Independant. I was always alone but I was content with it.

But now I don't have to be alone. I've got people in my life who like me the way I am, electric personality and all.

So here I am, riding my motorcycle to STAR labs, calling Barry at the same time through the mic in my helmet.

"So you either have a choice between Connect Four and Checkers," Barry says.

"Well, I think I can....OH CRAP!" I say, narrowly swerving around a pipe that all of a sudden gets thrown into the road. I carefully tap the brakes and stop the bike before looking around for the source of the pipe.

"Rani, that's not a board game." Barry deadpans as I get off my motorcycle to survey what the heck just happened.

"Wow, you're actually being sassy in life or death situations Allen. I think I'm starting to rub off on you."

"What? Are you okay?" He asks, getting slightly worried and I chuckle.

"Just peachy. I'm going to check something out. Just choose whichever board game you want and I'll see you at STAR Labs." I respond and hang up before he can talk me out of anything.

I pull off my helmet and move my bike into a more isolated part of the road where no one can steal it (Hopefully) before checking out the surroundings.

I'm in a dismal looking underpass that's quiet, sheltered and.....kinda smells like something's been burning. "Hello? Anyone here decide it was a smart idea to chuck a steel pipe in the middle of the road?!"

I move toward the pipe, and I reach out to pick it up and move it out of the way so someone won't drive over it but I drop it with a hiss of pain due to how hot it was.

If I wasn't preoccupied with the burning sensation in my hand, I might have noticed the two white eyes that belonged to a shaggy-haired man (well technically men but you know what I mean) watching from afar in surprise.

But I didn't and went on cursing the existence of the pipe before using my powers to blast it out of the road.

But what should have been a small blast -to my own horror- throws the pipe clear across the road and embeds itself into the concrete wall.

Shaking slightly at what I just did, I quickly look around to see if anyone noticed me before hopping back on my motorcycle and driving off to STAR Labs, my heart hammering in my chest because after that and the events from my toaster short-circuiting this morning (and burned my perfectly good food), I know my powers are growing stronger. I just didn't realize at what magnitude they were intensifying.

And I'm terrified they might get too strong. With my still shaking hands, I quickly jump back on my motorcycle and take every shortcut I can to get to STAR labs.

I rush in as fast as I can and startle almost everyone in the Cortex right as Caitlin touches the side of the Operation game.......so......there was much fright and jumping all at once.