Rogue Time
I don't own the Flash!
Barry screamed as he ran, ran faster than he ever had before. Time seemed to slow and warp as he ran. Then he screeched to a halt. He was on the same street he'd taken to get to the morgue only days ago. The same people were around him shouting the same things.
"Oh, boy." He muttered.
"Hey, what's going on?" Cisco's voice came through the comms "Dude?"
"Yeah, Cisco. I'm...here..."
"What happened? Why'd you stop?" Cisco asked.
"I just got a little disoriented." It wasn't a lie.
"Well, you need to make up some time, man." Cisco said "You better hurry up."
"Hurry? What are you—?" Barry gasped.
"Hurry, as in get to the morgue."
"The morgue?" Barry was confused "I was there. Yesterday."
"What are you talking about?" Cisco was getting very worried about his friend "Come on, you gotta go."
Barry looked around once more, sighed, and flashed off to the morgue.
Barry peaked around the corner into the morgue, no longer wearing his Flash suit.
Joe walked up to him "Hey, Barr. What's with all the water? Did the sprinkler system go off or something?"
"What?" Barry was confused "No, I checked the sprinklers. They're all intact. But the water has ice in it." He walked over to the dead body of the coroner "And the bruises on the coroner aren't just on his face. Check-Look at his torso."
Joe pulled the man's shirt up, revealing the multiple, painful looking bruises on his chest "Whoa. How the hell did you know that?"
"He was killed by hail." Barry remembered the recording from yesterday "We need to listen to the recording."
"Recording?" Joe asked.
Eddie joined them "Joe, we got something. The coroner's office just installed an automated dictation system. Listen to this."
"Please...no more..." The coroner's voice begged.
"I'll stop when you tell me." Mardon's voice responded.
"Just stop!" Pleaded the coroner.
Mardon snarled "Who killed him?"
"It's Mark Mardon." Barry breathed "He wants revenge."
Joe and Barry stared at each other as the recording played the coroner's screams.
Back at STAR Labs, Cisco, Caitlin, and Bella were coming out of the elevator.
"And I really don't want to go." Cisco complained.
"He's your brother, Cisco." Caitlin reminded him.
"And sometimes brothers suck." Bella pointed out "Look at mine."
"Okay well, how bad can a birthday party be?" Caitlin asked.
"Um, my folks think Dante's stink, don't stink." Cisco rolled his eyes "Doesn't matter how much he screws up, or how many times he gets into trouble. In their eyes he can do no wrong. And yet, they never fail to remind me that I can do no right."
"What if we came with you?" Caitlin asked, stopping Cisco and Bella outside the Cortex.
"What? Seriously?" Cisco asked.
"Absolutely." Bella wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders.
"You've done so much for us." Caitlin said "Let us be there for you for a change. And I could look at old family photo albums and see what little Cisco looks like without long hair."
"I'm rescinding your invite, Caitlin."
"Can I still come?" Bella smiled.
Cisco sighed "Fine. But no photos for Caitlin."
They entered the Cortex and saw the Mardon brother's mug shots on the screens. Barry, Joe, and Dr. Wells explained what had happened.
"Clyde Mardon has a brother?" Caitlin asked, shocked.
Dr. Wells rolled forward "So both Mardon brothers survived the plane crash and then the dark matter released by the particle accelerator explosion affects them both in-"
"Virtually the same way." Barry finished the sentence with Dr. Wells.
Bella looked at him strangely.
"That's right." Dr. Wells stared at Barry too.
"Only Mark's not like Clyde at all. He can do things that you couldn't even imagine." Barry thought aloud.
"You mean he's sorta like a..." Cisco began.
Barry joined him "Weather Wizard."
"Yeah." Cisco slurped his drink "Mm!"
"Trigeminal headache?" Barry and Caitlin asked in unison.
"Mr. Allen. Ms. Allen. A word please?" Dr. Wells rolled into the treadmill room with the Allen siblings following "You ruptured the time continuum, didn't you?"
"You what?" Bella asked, slightly angry "You idiot." She gently smacked Barry's arm.
"You're experiencing temporal reversion." Dr. Wells spoke over Bella.
"Yeah!" Barry was relieved that somebody knew what was going on.
"How long?" Bella asked.
"Uh, a day and some change." Barry stuttered "It's like I'm living it all over again."
"Yeah, well, that's good." Dr. Wells put his fingertips together "That means there's not too much you could have messed up yet. How did this happen?"
"Yeah, I'd like to know that too." Bella interjected.
"I-I don't know. I mean, I was running faster than I've ever ran, and the first time that I lived this day some really horrible things happened. There was a tidal wave and-" Barry was cut off by Dr. Wells.
"No. Do not tell me. I do not want to know anything about the future you experienced. Nothing!"
"Okay, but Dr. Wells, I-"
"Barry! Time...is an extremely fragile construct. Any deviation, no matter how small, could result in a cataclysm." Dr. Wells said angrily and Barry sat down on the edge of the treadmill "Now here's what you're going to do. Everything you did before. Every word you uttered, every step you took, you're going to do again. And you're not going to tell anyone this happened."
Barry sighed softly.
Barry and Bella walked into the precinct, approaching the captains office where Joe and Eddie were.
"Hey." Joe greeted as he and Eddie left the office.
"Hey." Barry sighed.
"What's goin' on with you?" Joe asked "How'd you figure all that stuff out at the morgue?"
"Ha!" Bella laughed "Please, Barry, tell us. We're all dying to know." She teased.
"Lucky guesses, I guess." Barry shrugged.
"Look," Joe looked over his shoulder "I'm telling you, I'm gonna get Mardon if it kills me."
Barry looked down uncomfortably. It clicked in Bella's mind. Joe must have died, or almost died in the timeline that Barry had come from.
"Joe, um-" Barry said anxiously "I gotta run an errand. I'll see you later, all right? Bella?"
He grabbed her arm and tugged her away from Joe who was staring at them curiously.
"Ouch! Barry!" Bella reprimanded as soon as they were a safe distance away "What?"
"We need to do something. Do you have your Pheonix gear?" Barry asked hastily.
"Of course. Are you gonna tell me what we're doing?" Bella cocked an eyebrow.
Barry shoved her into the girls bathroom, shouting "Hurry up!"
Bella rolled her eyes but changed into her suit. She exited through the small window in the corner and met Barry outside.
"Now will you tell me what's going on?" She growled.
"Follow me."
Barry sped off leaving Bella in the dust. She sighed but floated up and followed her annoying brother to abandoned apartment building near the edge of the city. The moment they arrived, Barry started flashing in and out of rooms, clearly looking for something, or someone.
"Barry...?" Bella realized what he was doing "Are you-?"
"Yes! Okay, yes, I'm gonna find Mardon and I'm gonna stop him before he can hurt yo-I mean anyone else." Barry stuttered.
"Did you say me?" Bella took a shaky breath "Barry, you need to tell me the truth."
"I will!" Barry insisted "Just help me find Mardon first."
"Fine." Bella groaned "Dr. Wells is gonna kill us."
She had no idea how right she would be.
Barry flashed up the stairs and quickly returned with Mark Mardon.
"Nice work, Flash." Bella said, slipping into her sarcastic Pheonix persona "You got it from here? Or do you need a hand?"
Team Flash stood in front of Mardon's cell in the pipeline.
Inside the prison, Mardon was raging "I'm gonna break out of here! I'm gonna create a tidal wave that destroys your entire city!"
Bella rolled her eyes "Yeah, have fun with that."
"I'll kill you!"
Barry shut the pipeline door and took off his mask, effectively cutting off Mardon's tirade.
"So, I still don't understand." Cisco asked "How did you find him?"
Barry shook his head "I just had a hunch."
"That's gotta be some kinda record." Caitlin mused.
"Yeah." Cisco chuckled and Bella and Caitlin followed him as he walked out of the pipeline "Well, there goes my excuse for bailing on my brother's birthday."
Bella stopped when she heard Dr. Wells speak "Do you have any idea what you've just done?"
"Yeah, I do." Barry retorted "I just saved a lot of lives, including those of my father and sister."
"I warned you not to mess with the timeline." Dr. Wells turned his chair around.
"Dr. Wells if you would just let me tell you what was gonna happen, you'd understand why I did this."
"Whatever tragedy you think you've just averted, time will find a way to replace it, and trust me, Barry, the next one could be much worse." And Dr. Wells rolled away.
Bella stepped back in "Told you he would kill us. Also, what did you mean what you said you saved my life?"
"Um-"
"You better tell me everything, real soon." Bella warned threateningly.
Caitlin, Cisco, and Bella walked into Cisco's brother, Dante's, birthday party. They were immediately greeted in rapid-fire Spanish, which only Cisco could keep up with.
"Wow," Caitlin mused "Your parents really went all out with the cake." She pointed to a three layered, white frosting cake.
"Ooh!" Bella squeaked as Cisco elbowed her "Sorry, it looks good."
"Oh, well, it is Dante's birthday." Cisco muttered "Most important day of the year."
A woman nearby was bragging "Mi hijo was invited to play Carnegie Hall when he was just thirteen years old."
"They invited the entire band, Mama." The man standing next to her, who Bella assumed was Dante, protested.
"That doesn't make it any less worthwhile."
Dante chuckled and turned around, noticing Cisco with Bella and Caitlin "Hey. What's up, man?"
"Hey." Cisco responded dryly.
"Glad you could make it."
"Of course." Cisco muttered.
Dante turned to Caitlin and Bella "Hi, I'm Dante."
Cisco hurried to introduce the two women "These are my friends, Caitlin and Bella."
"Hi, Caitlin, Bella." Dante smiled.
"Happy birthday, Dante." Caitlin shook his hand.
Bella shivered slightly "Yeah, happy birthday." She didn't shake his outstretched hand.
"Thank you." Dante smirked at the two women "Are you cold?" He asked Bella.
"No, I'm fine." Bella said sharply.
"Here, I...got you this." Cisco held out the present, stopping any more questions. "I think you'll really like it. It's a-"
"Thanks man." Dante said.
"Yeah."
"Excuse me." Dante said, hurrying off to put the present on the large pile in the other room.
Several, long, hours later everyone sat around Dante as he played the piano. Bella had to admit he was quite good. Still, she was getting flashbacks to Tony. Maybe it was because Dante was of similar build or maybe it was her anxiety being around so many people. She didn't know. But she did know that she had to stick it out for Cisco's sake.
Dante finished playing and Mrs. Ramon said something in Spanish "Well, here is one who is touched by God."
Dante got up and headed over to Cisco, Caitlin, and Bella.
"I was a little rusty." He said sheepishly "I haven't played in a while."
"Oh, well...If that was what you sounded like rusty, I can't imagine what you sound like when you've practiced." Caitlin complimented.
"Oh, for you, I'd practice morning, noon, and night." Dante flirted.
Bella held back a gag and winced as a headache flared.
"You alright?" Dante asked, noticing.
"Fine." She waved him off "Just a little dehydrated, I'm gonna go grab a drink." Bella walked off towards the kitchen.
"I'll check on her." Caitlin followed the fiery girl away.
"So..." Dante asked.
"So...what?" Cisco repeated.
"They're both pretty hot."
"Oh, you have no idea." Cisco chuckled to himself.
"Which one's your girlfriend?"
Cisco choked "What?" He spluttered.
"Dude, it's cool. I just wanna know which one I can go for."
"Neither!" Cisco said, furiously "Neither of them are my girlfriend. They are just friends."
"So, I'm good to go?"
"No! Caitlin's fiancee died in the particle accelerator explosion and Bella has a very protective older brother." Cisco sighed.
"Ooh, so not the sad one. Older brother, I can handle." Dante smiled triumphantly "Thanks, little bro."
"No, that's not what I..." But Dante had walked away "meant." Cisco finished worriedly.
Meanwhile in the kitchen, Caitlin had cornered Bella.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Nothing."
"It's something."
"No, it's not." Bella said, trying to convince herself as much as Caitlin "Really, Cait. I'm fine."
"Liar." Caitlin smiled "You and Barry have the same face when you lie. Now tell me what's wrong."
Bella sighed "Okay, fine. It's just my memories are acting up."
"Which memories?" Dante asked walking in "Good ones, I hope."
Caitlin sent Bella a look that clearly said 'We will finish this later.'
"Not exactly." Bella groaned and rubbed her temples "But I'd hate to burden you on your birthday."
"Please, do." Dante said "Is it to loud? Is that the problem?"
"No, it's..."Bella blinked quickly, ridding the image of Girder from her mind, and shook her head "It's not the problem."
"Well, would you like to sit down?" Dante asked "Go ahead, there's a really comfy chair in the living room."
Bella didn't argue and left.
Dante turned to Caitlin "What memories?"
"It's not my place to tell you." Caitlin said sternly "And I know Bella wouldn't be happy to know you're prying into her life. She barely knows you."
"But I'd sure like to get to know her better." Dante smiled "Can't you tell me?"
Cisco walked in "Dude! I said no!"
"Aw, come on, why are you so serious, Mi hijo?" Dante teased.
Cisco grabbed Caitlin's arm and gently pulled her away "Where's Bella?"
"Living room, why? Cisco, what was Dante trying to do?" Caitlin asked, but she was already being tugged into the living room where Bella sat talking to some Aunt or other.
"Bella, so sorry to interrupt." Cisco said, clearly not sorry "But we have to go."
"Of course, thank you, Ms. Ramon." Bella stood up quickly and followed Cisco and Caitlin out.
In the car, Caitlin was driving, Cisco turned to Bella "What happened? Tell me everything." He demanded.
"Geez, nothing to make you sound that much like Barry." Bella smiled lightly "I think your brother was just trying to be nice."
"Dante isn't nice unless there's something in it for him."
"Okay. I believe you." Bella said, not missing a beat.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I don't know," Bella shrugged "I just kinda got a weird vibe from him. Like he's always looking to take a little more than he's given."
"That is the best thing you could have ever said."Cisco reached into the back and pulled the Allen girl into a hug.
That night, Barry, Bella, and Cisco were at karaoke night.
Barry walked up and grabbed Cisco's shoulders, surprising him "Hey."
"Oh, hey, man." Cisco said, looking up from his drink "Thanks for meeting us here. Even though you can't get drunk."
Barry laughed "No worries."
"So, how was your day?" Cisco asked, moping over his glass.
"Great. But...Linda and I did break up." Barry said, still with a smile gracing his dopey features.
"What?" Bella asked, shocked "To bad, she was sweet."
"That's the first time I ever heard anyone use the word 'great' to describe a break-up." Cisco stared at Barry like he was an alien.
"I have a feeling that I'm about to move forward with someone really special." Barry grinned.
"Tina!" Bella flagged down their waitress "Can I get some shots, please? I don't care what's in them as long as it's strong."
"You got it, Bella." Tina wrote down something on her pad and hurried off.
"Okay, go ahead, Barry." Cisco motioned for the scarlet speedster to continue.
A blonde woman walked up behind Barry "Hi, I don't normally do this, but I was watching you and...Can I buy you a drink?" She asked, looking almost at Barry but not quite.
"Ew!" Bella sighed "Make that two rounds of shots, Tina! Seriously, lady? That's my brother."
Barry ignored his sister "Uh...wow. I mean, I'm really flattered, but I-"
"Actually, I was talking to him." The blonde woman pointed at Cisco.
Bella choked on her drink and Barry thumped her back.
She leaned across the table "Good luck, Cisco."
"I'm-I'm sorry, you said you were talking to me?" Cisco asked in shock.
"Yeah, I just told my friends over there that I thought you were cute and they dared me to come over here and talk to you, so...please talk to me." The woman practically begged.
"Yeah, yeah, I suppose I can talk to you for a little bit." Cisco nodded.
Then he started muttering weirdly at Barry.
"Yeah, no, we were just leaving." Barry said, getting up and pulling Bella with him "Make us proud." He whispered.
As Barry and Bella left the bar Barry asked "So why were you with Cisco?"
"It was his brother's birthday, his brother's a flirtatious dick, so on and so fourth." Bella shrugged.
"Wait, did Cisco's brother flirt with you?" Barry asked, suddenly serious "Do you need me to do something about him?"
"Barry, I think I've proven by now that I can take care of myself." Bella laughed "It was fine, really. My anxiety acted up a little but I'm okay."
"Are you sure?" Barry asked worriedly.
"Yes, Barr, I'm sure. And this is my building. So I'll see you in the morning." Bella waved as her brother nodded and sped off.
Barry walked into the cortex the next morning, obviously upset. Bella, Caitlin, and Dr. Wells were already there.
"What? No whoosh-in?" Caitlin asked.
"Yeah, usually you're a lot more chipper." Bella muttered.
"I needed the walk." Barry sighed.
"What did you do?" Bella asked worriedly.
"What happened?" Dr. Wells looked up from his computer.
"Nothin', uh...Linda...Iris...I don't wanna talk about it actually." Barry shook his head.
Dr. Wells and Caitlin shared a look before Dr. Wells said "Okay."
"Have you talked to Cisco?" Caitlin asked "I've been trying him on his cell, but he's not answering. Kind of...worried about him. He had a rough night."
"Trust me," Barry scoffed "It got better."
Barry's and Bella's phones both started vibrating "Hey Joe." The siblings said together.
"Yeah, Snart's back." Joe announced.
"Wait, Cold is back?" Barry asked, horror creeping across his features.
"Yeah, he was spotted at the Santini crime family casino." Joe told them "If he's hitting the Santini's, we could be looking at the beginning of a mob war."
Joe hung up and Barry and Bella shared a look before dashing to get into their suits.
"Well, this day just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?" Dr. Wells asked sarcastically.
The Snart siblings were in the process of attacking the Santini Casino. Snart walked in, cool as a cucumber.
"You killed my brother!" A member of the crime family stormed up to the villain with a small squad behind him "You shouldn't have messed with my family."
"That's funny." Lisa Snart walked up behind the men "I was gonna say the same thing about ours."
One of the men cocked his gun but Lisa fired her golden gun at him first. It encased the man in solid gold, freezing him to his spot.
"All that glitters..." Lisa shook her head, smiling.
Snart froze a light fixture above the now panicking crowd. It fell into the stampede, landing on top of someone. Guns began to fire as tables were flipped to provide shelter.
Lisa slide behind a table "This is sick!" She gasped.
"Well, you wanted us to spend more time together." Snart snarked.
Barry flashed in and quickly got the crime family and the stragglers out. Bella flew in and sent a blast of fire at a shot of ice Snart had just fired. The two elements collided and the ice melted on impact.
"How many times are we gonna go through this, Snart?" Barry shouted.
"Until the best man wins." Snart stood up and prepared to fire at Barry.
Barry ran over and grabbed Lisa Snart, pulling her back in front of her brother, Barry pointed her gun under her chin.
"Drop the gun!" He shouted.
Snart put his hands up in mocking surrender "We both know you're not going to do anything to her. Oh, by the way, meet my baby sister. Lisa, Flash. Flash, Lisa. Cisco has been very, very busy. Unless you want me to mail small, frozen pieces of him back to his family, I'd take your hands off her." Snart threatened.
Barry shoved Lisa away "Let him go, Snart."
"I'll think about it." Snart smirked.
"Or, you know, you could just do as we say." Pheonix sneered.
"Ugh, you again?" Snart rolled his eyes "Why can't I freeze you?" He fired his gun at her and, once again, she was encased in ice.
Bella opened her eyes and quickly melted the ice "Aw, man, you got my suit wet!" But the Snarts were already gone.
The CCPD had arrived at the scene and Joe walked up to the very concerned Barry.
"Barr." He said "Witnesses reported seeing the Flash and Pheonix. They said you had Snart dead to rights but you let him go? Why?"
Barry shook his head "Cisco. Snart and his sister have him."
"Oh, man. Okay, get to STAR Labs." Joe ordered "I'll get there when I can."
"All right." Barry began to walk away.
Eddie came up behind him "Allen."
"Hey, Eddie, I-" But Eddie had punched Barry in the face with all his might.
"Stay away from Iris." Eddie warned.
"What the hell is going on here?" Joe asked, confused.
"Hey," Captain Singh jogged up to the three men "If you two have a beef, you take it outside."
"You know what the worst part is, Barry?" Eddie asked "I thought you and I were friends."
Barry sat in the Cortex, an ice pack on his face, with Dr. Wells and Bella. They were watching the security footage of Cisco last night.
"So there's Cisco getting into a car with Snart's sister." Dr. Wells mused "And the license plate is iced over."
Barry slammed his fist on the table, making Bella jump, and threw down the ice pack.
"Alright, Dr. Wells, you were right. I-I-I screwed with time and now time is screwing with me. Cold is back, he kidnapped Cisco, and Iris is-"
"Stop right there before you cause another disruption to the timeline." Dr. Wells, warned.
"Please, Dr. Wells. Please," Barry begged "I have to talk to someone."
Dr. Wells sighed "Go ahead."
"Wait!" Bella said sharply "Is this smart?"
"Probably not." Dr. Wells shook his head "But tell us anyway, Barry."
"In the previous version of today, Captain Singh is seriously injured, Joe and Bella are in danger, and Iris said she had feelings for me." Barry explained.
"And now Cisco's life is on the line, and Iris has no idea she confessed those feelings."
"But she still has them, right?" Barry asked, hope lacing his tone.
"The unconscious mind, Barry, it-it's a powerful thing. It sounds like it took this apparent disaster to jar those feelings loose and without a disaster, those feelings remain deeper down. Unaccessed."
"I don't understand." Barry shook his head "I thought that I was helping people by stopping Mardon."
"Yes, but this new ability of yours, Barry, is dangerous. You only travelled back in time one day. What if you travelled back decades? Centuries? Imagine the havoc you could wreak."
Barry shook his head again realizing "But I will have the opportunity to travel back in time in the near future."
"What?" Bella asked "Barry, what are you talking about?"
"To save Mom."
"That's not possible, Barry. You can't. If you do, then who knows what kind of disasters could happen." Bella breathed.
"You're saying I shouldn't?"
"We're saying how many more people could die if your mother lives?" Dr. Wells asked.
Caitlin hurried in "Did you guys find Cisco?"
"Not yet."
Bella had gone out to get some coffee for the group, who had been up all night looking for Cisco. Caitlin sat monitoring the satellites. Barry and Dr. Wells were trying to figure out where the Snarts and Rory might be hiding.
"There's nothing on the satellite thermography." Caitlin sighed.
"You were right. This is all my fault." Barry groaned.
"How is this your fault?" Caitlin asked.
"Brave heart, Barry." Dr. Wells tried to reassure the speedster "We'll get Cisco back."
"I'm back."
Everyone spun around to see Cisco standing in the entrance to the Cortex.
"Oh, my God. Are you okay?" Caitlin asked, rushing over and embracing the engineer "We were so worried."
"Hey, I got-Cisco!" Bella appeared and flew at Cisco, wrapping her arms around him and Caitlin "You're alive, thank God."
"What happened?" Barry asked.
Dr. Wells rolled towards the group "How did you escape?"
Caitlin wiggled herself free of Bella's crushing embrace and gently pulled the superhero off of Cisco so he could speak freely.
"I didn't." Cisco shook his head, tears filling his eyes.
"Snart just let you go? Why?" Barry questioned.
"He, um...he tortured my brother." Cisco's voice trembled "And he said he was gonna kill him if I didn't...if I didn't tell him..."
"Tell him what?" Caitlin pressed.
Cisco started to cry in earnest "Who the Flash and Pheonix really are. I, honestly, man, they...they could have killed me. But they were gonna kill my brother. I couldn't let him do that." Cisco sobbed.
Barry and Bella exchanged a quick look before approaching Cisco.
"Hey." Barry murmured.
"I'm sorry, Barry, Bella."
"No." Bella whispered.
"I'm so sorry." Wept the long haired man.
"We put you in that position." Barry said, his tone calming.
"It is not your fault, Cisco." Bella hugged her friend again "We're the ones who're sorry."
Cisco gave Bella a quick squeeze before backing up and turning to leave.
"Where are you going?" Barry asked.
"I don't deserve to be here." Cisco shook his head "I won't be the one to put you in jeopardy. Not again. Never again."
He walked out the door. Barry looked back at Dr. Wells then towards Bella, only to realize she had vanished, following Cisco out of the Cortex.
"Cisco! Please!" Bella called "Come back."
"I can't, Bella. Please, let me go." Cisco paused, turned around, and hugged her again "I'm sorry."
Bella reentered the Cortex just behind Dr. Wells and Cisco. Dr. Wells had been trying to boost Cisco's confidence and it looked like his pep talk had worked.
"The casino wasn't the target." Barry told them.
"Then why did he do it?" Cisco asked.
"Casinos keep tons of cash on hand to cover their markers, not to mention the money that they make." Caitlin explained.
"But if they're under attack-" Barry started.
"The protocol is to relocate the money outside the casino." Bella finished, catching on.
"So that was Snart's plan all along." Dr. Wells said "To trigger the move."
"Okay, where is it now?" Cisco had clearly gotten his mojo back.
Snart and Rory were on motorcycles, Lisa was in the sidecar of her brother's. The truck transporting the money continued to roll forward, speeding down the lane as the criminal's were in hot pursuit. The men in the back of the truck threw open the door and began shooting at their pursuers.
The bad guys avoided the shots and Lisa powered up her gold gun, blasting one of the men's guns and encasing it in the shimmery metal. Rory pulled up closer to the moving truck and turned on his heat gun, he fired it and the tires caught fire instantly. This made the truck begin to swerve and shake.
Cold prepared to fire his own gun but Barry ran by, grabbing the criminal, making Lisa move from the sidecar to the actual motorcycle in an attempt to stop it from crashing, she failed and the bike crashed into Mick's making them both topple off.
Barry flashed Snart into the woods where Bella was waiting in her Pheonix getup.
Snart took off his helmet "Good to see you...Barry, Bella."
Barry took off his own mask and Bella followed suit "We have to talk." Barry shouted "I know Cisco told you who we are."
"Can't really blame the kid for giving you up. You or his brother? Come on! I put him in a tight spot. Same kind I got you two in right now." Snart pointed at the heroes "Can't really stop me now that I know who you two are."
"I could speed you to my own private prison where you'll never see the light of day." Barry threatened.
"You could, but then I won't be around to stop my own private uplink that'll broadcast your identities to the world. So, the million dollar question. What to do with me now, Barry and Bella Allen?"
"We won't let you keep stealing whatever you want whenever you feel like it." Barry scowled "It needs to end."
"Can't do that." Snart shook his head "It's what I do."
"Then find a new line of work." Barry suggested.
Snart shrugged "Don't want to."
"Why is that?"
"The same reason you keep running after guys like me. The adrenaline. The thrill of the chase. I love this game." Snart gestured around him "And I'm very good at it."
"Then go play it somewhere else." Barry tried "Leave Central City."
"Can't do that either. I love it here. This city is my home."
Barry scoffed "You've seen what we can do. You know that we can stop you. You wanna keep pushing your luck, go for it. But from here on out, no one else dies. If you're as good as you say you are, you don't have to kill anyone to get what you want."
Snart tilted his head to the side "That's true."
"And if you, or anyone in your rogues' gallery goes near any of my friends or family again, I don't care who you tell my identity to. I'm putting you away." Barry warned.
"I guess your secret's safe...Flash." Snart nodded "I don't know about Miss Allen though."
"Listen to me and listen good." Bella moved forward, her voice dangerous "You already know your heat and cold guns can't hurt me. If you try to kill or hurt Barry or I or anyone we care about I can promise that the entire vigilante force of Gotham City will rain down Hellfire on you. You won't have a chance to repent, you, your friend Mr. Rory, and quite possibly your sister will suffer. You won't die but you will be as close to death as you can get. There will be nowhere you can hide. Do you understand?"
Snart's eyes widened at the thought of Batman and his crew coming after him and Lisa and he nodded fearfully.
Bella turned to Barry and they put on their masks "Let's go, Flash." Pheonix said.
Barry nodded and flashed away, Bella blasted off into the air. They left Snart in the dust.
They arrived back at STAR Labs and Barry turned to Bella "Remind me never to get on your bad side."
Word count: 5281 words
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The Author