quiver - barry allen

36.

"Of course I'm worried about him. We all are."

Quiver

Chapter 36; Tricksters

Since the particle accelerator exploded and dark matter was released, there had been a significant increase in crime throughout Central City. Now, there were no normal criminals which Charlotte missed. It was one of the many reasons as to why she stopped helping the police. She also missed days off.

When she first heard about the bombing in Central City's park where a lot of children played, she rushed over to S.T.A.R. Labs. Charlotte couldn't believe that someone would be so twisted and cruel that they would send down bombs by parachutes that were held in small present boxes. She was glad that no one was killed, but it was still shocking to her. She dealt with many awful criminals in Starling, but this criminal was mentally insane in her opinion.

When she arrived, she quickly rushed into the Cortex where everyone else was watching the news. The man who had bombed the city park had livestreamed the entire event from his phone before speaking to the camera.

"Tricked ya," he chuckled with wide eyes. "Look who's back. My tricks. My treat. But I'll give you something good to eat. Today's special: A city in ashes. The Trickster proudly welcomes you all to the new disorder."

"Talking in the third person. That's never a good sign," commented Cisco with a frown. He was sitting down at the computers with Caitlin to his left and Dr. Wells behind him. Charlotte, Joe, and Barry were standing up in front of the television watching the broadcast.

"You're just mad because he named himself," Charlotte retorted, turning to face him.

"Actually, he didn't," Joe corrected her, causing her to turn back around with a raised eyebrow. It was her non-verbal way of telling him to elaborate. "Twenty years ago, Central City was hit by a series of terrorist attacks. One man killed at least ten civilians, two cops. That guy called himself 'The Trickster'."

Cisco had started typing away at his computer when Joe was speaking. He was searching up the original Tricksters. When he saw who it was, he showed many different websites, articles, and images of the terrorist.

"Whoa. Someone was rocking the unitard."

"James Jesse?" Caitlin questioned, reading the headline of an article.

"Like Jesse James, only more twisted," Joe said.

"Where is this Mr. Jesse now?" asked Dr. Wells.

"He's serving several life sentences at Iron Heights. He was just about the most dangerous thing Central City had ever seen."

"You mean until the Particle Accelerator blew up," grumbled Barry. He earned an odd look from Charlotte, and she wondered what was wrong with him. He usually didn't act that way unless he was angry, and she wanted to know why.

"Barry and I will go see this James Jesse at Iron Heights," Joe interjected, "see if he can give us something that can help us catch his groupie."

"I'll analyze the video and see if I can figure out the source," Cisco announced. Charlotte quickly added that she was going to go along with Joe and Barry to Iron Heights. Barry moved out of the room swiftly, and Charlotte jogged after him as Joe was stopped by Dr. Wells.

"Hey, Barry. Are you okay? You seem angry," she asked, resting a hand on his arm. Unbeknownst to her, it calmed him down slightly when she touched him; it was the same for her as well, but the other way around.