Mirage

PROLOGUE

It had been six months since the singularity had destroyed the city.

Six months since the near death of Alex Holt. She had been hospitalized the whole time. During that time, nothing had changed with her health. Physically, she had healed perfectly - within days of the accident to be precise. However, it was her mind that wasn't allowing her to wake.

There had been minimal brain activity and they feared when and if she did awake, that it wouldn't be the same Alex they grew to love. The person that had become the hero that they needed to give them hope that everyone can change. The hero that The Flash relied on constantly.

Barry Allen hadn't been the same the last six months. He had become distant from the team, only seeing them the few times that they visited Alex at the same time, but had sped away as soon as he got the chance. He was afraid of disappointing his friends once again and knew that he could be the lone hero that the people needed. From fixing Jitters to stopping fires, The Flash remained a hero.

Every hero needed a partner, and the Flash was no Flash without Mirage.

"Alex, I know you're stronger than this, I know you can wake up," Barry gripped the pale blonde's hand like his life depended on it. It was later at night, all the lights off in the room except the one over his shoulder. Six long months of hoping and praying that she would wake with no responses. "I need you, not just as Mirage, but as the woman I love. We all need you, now more than ever."

Barry was losing hope. The last six months he had to witness Iris grieve from her loss. He wasn't ready to have to do the same, not with Alex - not when the time they had together was so short. She didn't deserve the fate she was received, this wasn't the end of her road. It couldn't be.

"I keep thinking about the time that you convinced me to go for a drive. When things were busy with catching Wells and I refused to do anything but search for him. I loathed the idea of wasting time like that, driving meaninglessly with no destination and no reasoning.

"But then you had taken me through streets I had never seen before, places that were so gorgeous that it had taken my mind away from everything going on. I remember looking over at you, your arm hanging out the window and you hair blowing around from the air blowing in. You looked so carefree and beautiful, it was that moment that I understood why you liked driving so much. You had a control on where you wanted your life to take you, it was a sense of control I could never obtain.

"I never thanked you for how much that time meant to me, how much I needed to be able to have a sense of control so I could think about what needed to happen next. I never got to tell you that each day I spent with you that I was falling more in love with you."

Barry wiped the tears that slipped down his cheeks. There was so much that Alex had taught him that he didn't even realize until she wasn't by his side everyday. He had so much more to learn and so much to teach her. Barry stood up from the chair he sat at, looking down at the blonde metahuman.

He hadn't lost all hope, he had gained bits back each time he ran through the streets she had taken him - just as he was that night.