Within Seconds // Barry Allen

Stand By Me

Parker's eyes squinted through the darkness when she regained consciousness. Hazy from her sleep, she swung her feet over the edge of the couch. Underneath her shoes, the floor creaked. The noise alone was enough to bring her alert. 

Wherever she was being held, nothing was familiar. In fact, Parker wasn't entirely sure the shack she resided in was in Central City. 

Peering through the slits in the wall, she saw a strongly built man shoveling fries into his mouth. Not much faith lived in her ability to take him down, but she was also aware that sitting around and waiting for someone to rescue her wasn't much of a bright idea. 

Parker counted to three, then busted open the shack door with her shoulder. Her fingers wrapped around the man's throat. Her knees dug into his hips. She screamed as he spun in circles, trying to fling her from his back. 

The man backed into the shack twice, which caused Parker's grip to loosen. She dropped to the porch. She exerted all the force left in her to kick at his calves. He hit the floor. 

Parker scrambled to her feet and sprinted. 

Suddenly, a odd gush of wind knocked her off balance. Her feet left the ground for a brief second. She was set down in front of the shack once again, only, that time, crimson covered hands were wrapped tightly around her waist. 

"Get my ass out of here this instant, Barry! I was kidnapped, I think, I don't know, I'm--"

With one hand, Barry grabbed her cheeks. He squished them at a force that made her lips stick out. He repeatedly kissed her forehead. 

For a second, Parker was too caught up of the feeling of his lips to remember where they were.

"Is she okay now?!" cried a familiar voice. 

Parker twisted in Barry's arms to seek Felicity, who crawled out from underneath a table on the porch. She watched the scene with wide eyes. 

"Dig, are you okay?" asked Barry. 

"Diggle!" gasped Parker. "Oh, my God, Diggle, I attacked you! I'm so, so sorry!"

Diggle frowned at the scattered fries surrounding his body. "No worries, Parker... It's not like I wanted my fries or anything."

"Let me get you a change of clothes," offered Felicity. She left to her car for a pair of replacement clothes. 

Parker ducked into the shack to change. As she pulled the t-shirt over her head, she felt a soreness underneath her rib. She stepped closer to a rip in the shack. In the moonlight, she noticed a marking on her skin that caused a shrill to exit her mouth. 

Barry was the first one to burst through the door. 

Parker lowered her shirt over her ribs, hiding her torso from view. 

Felicity slid past Barry. She reached for Parker. She removed the hovering hand, taking a peak for herself, then snorted.

"I know," whispered Parker in horror. 

"Wow," was all Felicity had to say for the moment. "Wow," she repeated. "I don't remember that! We were hammered, how did we manage to get you a tattoo?"

"'Tattoo?'" echoed Barry. "Tattoo of what?"

Headlights moved across the cracks in the walls. The sound of a dying engine reached their ears. 

"Oliver's here!" chimed Felicity. She grabbed the sleeve of Parker's shirt and pulled her in close, whispering, "Wait until you see him in person..."

Barry eagerly exited the shack. He walked alongside Oliver, lightly punching his shoulder as a greeting. "Thanks for showing up back there, but I had that," he said cheerfully. 

Oliver's eyes flickered to the spot where Barry touched him, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

"I was getting ready to make my move," continued Barry. 

"What move? The one to the morgue?"

Parker snickered. 

Oliver's head snapped to the unknown girl. "You're Parker Sylas."

"Hot damn," whispered Parker. "You know my name," she gasped, then turned to Felicity, "He knows my name."

"And you're wearing my shirt."

Parker looked down at her torso. "Yes, yes, I am."

Barry grabbed a handful of Parker's shirt and brought him to his side. 

Felicity raised her brow suggestively. 

"So, what are you guys doing in Central City?" asked Barry. 

"Jealous I'm wearing another dude's clothes?" mumbled Parker. 

Barry's grip on her waist tightened. He dropped his neck, his mouth by her ear, "You're mine, Sylas," and when Parker looked up at him, he was intently listening to Felicity's answer like the conversation had never gone on.

"A case. A suspicious homicide in Starling where the murder weapon was a boomerang," explained Felicity. She withdrew a metal boomerang from her bag and handed it to Barry.

"Cool!" said Barry at first. When he felt Oliver's watchful eyes, he shook his head. "I mean, awful."

"I found traces of iron oxide," said Felicity. She took a sip from her drink, shrugging her shoulders. "I know it's a long shot, but Central City has the highest concentration of iron oxide in the country. So..."

Barry had completely let go of Parker, immersed in the murder weapon. "Did you know Australian aboriginals used boomerangs to hunt? Mainly kangaroos, which have a surprisingly low fat--"

Oliver cleared his throat, cutting off Barry's nonsense.

Parker hid her smile behind her hand, amused to see someone else who didn't care about the science crap coming from Barry's mouth. She always listened to Barry's babbling, regardless of the topic, but the pure joy it gave her to watch someone else cut him off was fantastic.

"We were running down a lead when we heard the S.W.A.T. team over the radio. I thought I would come by, and watch you make your move," teased Oliver. 

"I had a cousin who got struck by lightning once," said Diggle loudly. "All he developed was a stutter."

Parker had to suck her lips into her mouth to keep from laughing.

"Well, my team is working a case with a nasty meta-human who makes people angry," explained Barry. 

"Cool," chorused Parker and Felicity. Oliver narrowed his eyes at the girls, but only Felicity corrected her mistake with a flat-toned, "I mean, awful."

"Why don't we help each other out?" suggested Parker. 

Barry's face lit up with her idea. "I'll help you find your boomerang man; you help me find my super-rage-aholic."

"We'd love to," agreed Felicity. 

"No, we'll handle our business and head home," said Oliver sharply.

Barry's shoulders dropped. 

"Oliver, the fastest way to do that is through S.T.A.R. Labs," protested Felicity. 

"Enough people know my secret identity," he argued. He stared pointedly at Parker as an example.

"That's their fault," defended Parker, pointing to Felicity and Barry.

"Fine. I'll go, they know who I am," said Felicity. She started to walk to the car.

Barry looked at Parker. Through a few hopeful eyebrow wiggles, Barry received permission to give Felicity a ride to S.T.A.R. Labs via his speed. He kissed her cheek four times thankfully. On the fifth try, Parker giggled and pushed him towards Felicity. 

"Let me give you a lift!" shouted Barry, then zoomed away with the tech woman in his arms. 

Diggle narrowed his eyes at Parker. "What do we do with you?"

"Not kill me," said Parker cautiously. 

"Come on," offered Oliver. "We'll drop you off."