The Hybrid Son

Part 36: Servant

9:00 am

STAR LABS

November 17th, 2018

Gathered around the Cortex, Henry waited for his father along with Cisco, Caitlin, Ralph, Harry, and Joe. Tapping his feet Henry glanced at the time. After receiving the message from his mother, Henry was anxious to see what his father had in stores for him. A gust of wind blew into the Cortex as Barry came to a stop with Iris in his arms.

"Great you guys are all here," he said before setting Iris down.

"Yeah," replied Henry stepping forward. "So what kind of test did you have in mind for me?" asked Henry looking at his father.

"Well after pondering the idea for a while, Iris helped me come up with the perfect way to see if you are good enough to join me on the field," said Barry smiling at Iris.

"She did?" asked Henry looking at Iris.

"I did!" smiled Iris wickedly. Looking at her reaction Henry scrunched his eyebrow in confusion. He had a bad feeling about this.

"Well what is it?" asked Cisco curiously.

"I have decided if Henry would like to join me on the field, he will have to complete a series of tasks," said Barry.

"What kind of task?" questioned Caitlin standing by her son.

"Well starting from now on Henry will have to assist our every need. Whether it's retrieving a pencil falling off the desk, dry cleaning, coffee, or our favorite pastry from France, Henry will have to use his speed to complete each task for the rest of the day," explained Barry.

"Is this some kind of a joke?!" asked Henry looking at his father like he was crazy.

"No, it's not," butted in Iris. "It would be a great way to test your speed and reflexes to see if you can multitask, and if you're any good. Besides, you'll be like our own private servant for the day,"  shrugged Iris like it was not a big deal.

"Exactly," said Barry nodding his head in agreement. "And to start you off I would like an Iced Americano," smiled Barry.

"Would you guys like anything?" asked Barry, looking at the rest of the team. Looking among each other the team stood there not sure what to say. "Don't be shy this will be good for him," encouraged Barry.

"Well in that case, I'll have an espresso with a chocolate croissant on the side," said Cisco.

"Ohhh! I want pancakes with eggs and bacon along with a cup of coffee too," added Ralph.

"A cup of Joe please," laugh Joe at his corny joke.

"An Iced coffee," said Harry knowing he's gonna need it to get through the day.

"And I'll have a strawberry strudel with a Grande, Quad, Nonfat, One-Pump, No-Whip, Mocha," said Iris walking over to take a seat on one of the computer chairs. "Oh and I also want a box of pastry from France. The finest preferably," said Iris beginning to file her nails.

Looking down at Iris, Henry was a loss for words. Are they serious? Glancing at his father Henry stared into his see-green eyes to see if he was pulling his leg. Noticing that he was being completely serious Henry looked down at the floor. Is this all he thought of him? As a servant?

Looking between Iris and Barry, Caitlin couldn't help but feel disgusted. She understood Iris's motive. But Barry's?! Henry was his own son and shouldn't be treated like this.

"Alright," said Henry, deciding to play his little game. He wasn't gonna let this little roadblock stop him from being a hero out on the field. Walking over towards the computer chair Henry grabbed his jacket. Slinging it on Henry turned around to face the team. Looking at his mother who had not spoken a word since his father's 'grand idea' Henry looked at her puzzled.