The Yin-Yang Complex

Fly On The Wall

Barry entered Cisco's lab, all too aware that Nutella was at his heels. The cat seemed to only stick around him, as though he was infatuated. Barry didn't blame the poor guy, all of the others were always cooing over him and singing his praises, he probably wasn't used to it. Henry was sitting on his own, fidgeting with wires, Barry knew he was trying to create something, but he didn't know what, "hey dad, you got a minute?" Barry hesitantly asked, he didn't want to disrupt Henry. Nutella clumsily jumped up onto the desk that Henry was working on, far enough away that he couldn't be patted. Barry swore that the cat must have balance issues because it seemed as though it wasn't used to its own body.

"Of course," Henry smiled and pulled a seat over, which Barry gratefully took, Henry was distracted for a moment, "that is one strange cat," he mumbled whilst frowning at the cat, which stared him straight in the eye.

"What do you mean?" Barry asked. It looked like a normal cat, and it kind of acted like one too.

"Look at it," he pointed at Nutella, "he just stares, he goes out to find food and never eats the stuff we give him, he never asks to be petted or even comes close enough to do so, but he hangs around and stays here, like he wants to be near us, but not too close, or maybe even like he has to be near us, even if he doesn't want to," he pondered over the little, brown and furry feline in front of him.

"I suppose so," Barry began to feel weird about the cat, there definetly was something strange about it. As if Nutella agreed, he let out a loud meow, Barry shook it off, there was a more important matter at hand, "Sebastian has gone missing again," he blurted out. Nutella laid down and let out a massive sigh. Barry didn't even know cats could sigh.

"What? How do you know?" Henry asked. Slight worry was etched into his features.

"Joe called to tell us that he hadn't been in for a few days, and then we found out that a case he was working on included people disappearing," Barry explained with enthusiasm, Nutella let out a low and lifeless meow. He was giving up. Sebastian might end up being Nutella forever.

"How do you know he isn't just ill?" Henry asked. He might not know Sebastian very well anymore, but he was a doctor, and he did know that after traumatic experience, like being stabbed or abducted, the immune system was not as effective, making it easier to get sick.

"Well... I don't but... there is a possibility," Barry stuttered, he had jumped to a conclusion. Nutella let out a low and almost inaudible growl, he glanced at them with his massive hazel eyes. He just wanted them to figure out who he was so he could go home. Barry just though there was something very wrong with the cat.

"Then why don't you go check his apartment," Henry said. Barry felt a light bulb, he could go to Sebastian apartment, and if he wasn't there, then he could sweep the streets for signs Sebastian had been left there.

"Good idea, thanks Dad," with that Barry was off in a Flash, causing all of Henry's designs to go flying into the air. Henry sighed as he leant over to start picking up papers, "what am I going to do with that boy?" he tutted to himself. Nutella meowed loudly again, he didn't even bother to lift his head though, he was slowly loosing hope in team Flash, "well at least he cares about his brother now," Henry snorted back a laugh. Sebastian felt queasiness twist in his stomach, he didn't like the idea that Barry wanted to be close to him. It didn't feel right.

Cisco and Caitlin sat in cortex, discussing ways to identify the old lady the victims had spoken to before they disappeared. Nutella lay a few meters away from them, just watching them work. They didn't get much time to do so, because Barry burst into the room sending paper flying all over the place. That took Cisco by surprise, but what surprised him even more was the medium sized bird cage he was carrying. The bars were thin and black, but the most interesting thing about its mono chromatic scheme was the pop of beautiful colours on the small bird inside. Barry placed the cage down on the floor. The poor thing looked terrified.

"Why do you have a bird?" Cisco asked. Barry did many strange things, but coming into the lab with a random bird had to be a new low.

"It's Sebastian," Barry told them, "I found a bunch of his things in the back ally of The Tumbleweed, so I visited his apartment and his bird looked lonely and it had no food or water,"

"So you brought it here?" Cisco replied sarcastically. Next thing he knew the lab was going to be populated with animals.

"Well yeah, you guys are nearly always here and I couldn't leave it on its own for too long, the bird would get stressed," Barry told them. Sebastian was impressed, Barry knew more than he let on about parrots. Sebastian felt his heart lift at the sight of his feathered friend, he loved that little bird. He crept closer, slowly, keeping his body small, trying to look less frightening to it. Rico, his bird, looked scared, very scared, his little chest was heaving.

"Um, Barry, I think Nutella wants to eat the bird," Cisco pointed out with a sigh. He could have guessed that would happen. He moved to shoo Nutella away but was stopped by Barry.

"Don't, this cat is so unlike others, if he tried to kill the bird then I can speed in, but for now, I just want to see if he acts like a normal cat," Barry reasoned with Cisco, who with a huff, agreed.