Hero of Central City

The Canyon

Jitters

Joe and Wally sat on the top balcony drinking coffee.

"Barry's been through a lot. We've been taking care of that boy since he was eleven. His mother was murdered and his father was wrongfully imprisoned for it. The reason we have so many photos of him is because we're so proud of how much he's grown since then. Cut him some slack will ya?" Joe explained to his son.

Wally took a sip of his coffee, "What about Dakota? She seems edgy, violent, and...."

"Reckless." Joe finishes. "She is all of those things but she gets things done. Dakota has been through so much. She's suffered so much pain and loss and anger. Dakota tends to hide her feelings away, push them down."

"What happened to her?" Wally asks.

"About a month after Barry's mother was killed her parents were shot. Both her and Barry suffered a great loss. It effected them differently."

****

Dakota, Barry, and Cisco stood at the edge of a small canyon containing a waterfall.

"It didn't look this big on the map." Cisco points out staring into the depths of the canyon.

"That's because maps are flat, this is like a thousand feet deep." Barry replies with a worried look on his face.

"It's beautiful." Dakota takes a picture with her phone.

"Well you want to get faster. Maybe plummeting to your death is the motivation you need." Cisco says as they all walk back to the their tents.

"So to reach escape velocity, you're gonna have to go..." Harry shows him the number on his pad. "That fast."

Barry scoffs, "Well that fast is impossible. I can promise you that."

"Ah, 'nothing in life is promised except death'". Wells points out trying to encourage his friend.

"Edgar Allan Poe?"

Harry closes up his notepad, "Kanye West."

Dakota crosses her arms and smiles, "I approve. If it makes you feel any better Evil Knievel cleared a line of cars twice this long and he didn't even have superpowers."

"Unless you count that sweet-ass ride." Cisco patted Dakota's shoulder as he came to stand next to them.

"Do you hear yourself?" Barry demanded, his voice noticeably higher.

"You're gonna be fine. I'm 80% sure of it. 76. Like a strong 72. I can't stop Caitlin help." Cisco continues on.

"If you feel that you aren't ready, then you probably shouldn't do it." Caitlin suggests.

"Not helpful."

"Zoom is still out there and once I find a way back to Earth-2, I have to be faster than him. Right now, I wasn't even fast enough to save Jay." Barry replies ignoring Cisco's comment. "I have to try."

The team watched as Barry jumped the canyon, but only to fail and be catched by Cisco's drones.