Chapter Seventeen:
Barry and Patty return to the lab after the pleasure the night before. The report on Patty's desk causes her to raise an eyebrow instantly.
"What?"
"We have another attack. Although this one is not in Central City...this one is in Star City...the contact we have at the station sent this one over because we might find it interesting."
A couple of seconds pass as Patty finds her bearings. Barry puts a hand on her shoulder and she jolts up, taking a couple of deep breaths.
"Okay, this one is different in the sense that there's a riddle attached to it."
Just like they talked about the other day. Barry does not want to say he's concerned about this situation but there's most certainly a few unsettling thoughts entering his mind. Patty reads over the report a few seconds later and she just passes it off to Barry.
Barry devours the content of the report in a matter of seconds.
"What kind of feline does not have their own sense of style?"
Barry realizes it instantly and takes a deep breath. Patty puts a hand on his shoulder and gives him a very frustrated smile in response.
"The answer to that would be a copycat."
The man behind this particular murder is an obvious one. Barry sees it as plain as day. The criminal, at least on this murder, is Edward Nygma. Nygma is a former CSI, much like Barry is. Only he got turned bad. His brilliant mind had been twisted in a series of misfortunes. Exactly the reason, Barry does not really know.
"Nygma...great...of course it would be him."
"And you're familiar with his work...well anyone would be...and the man who shut down his previous crime sprees."
Patty puts a hand on Barry's shoulder to jolt him out of the thoughts.
To be honest, Barry encountered Nygma in the not so distant past. It raises even more questions, one could even say that it raises too many questions regarding what Nygma might have been up to.
"So, he murdered someone in Star City….because he thought the murders in Central City was a copycat criminal. And that does not help us in solving our crime or pinpointing the criminal who is at large in this particular case."
A deep breath comes from Barry. He reads over. There's always more to a situation like this than meets the eye. He needs to find out more about the murder victim.
There's some nagging feeling in the back of Barry's mind that the murder victim in Star City has some kind of connection with the three victims in Central City. Meaning, that the person who killed the first three victims likely targetted the fourth victim. Until the Riddler decided to beat him to the punch.
There's many questions, the least of which is why. And Barry does not know the answer.
"So what do you think?"
Patty asks a pretty good question. Seconds pass right before Barry responds with a nod. He puts a hand on Patty's shoulder.
"I'm going to have to run over to Star City and talk to someone over there. See what's going on. I'll be in touch."
A knowing smile crosses over Patty's face. She leans in and gives Barry a brief kiss before she lets him do his thing.
With Barry gone, Patty decides to get out the other three reports to see if she can find some kind of connection. Despite Nygma's claims that the other three murders are the work of a copycat attacker, there's still some nagging suspicions in the back of Patty's head.
X-X-X
A quick change into the Flash brings Barry over to Star City.
"I got your message. And got over here as quick as I can, although not as quick as you."
The Black Canary turns up instantly from the shadows and Barry gives her a brief smile.
"I know you've been busy since Oliver…."
"Let's not talk about that right now...as far as I know, he's still going through therapy."
Flash answers with a brief nod. Funnily enough, he hears the same exact thing. Oliver is in therapy, and Thea is overseas dealing with some kind of family business there, although he does not know what. All he knows is it is personal business and there's a huge part of it that respects that.
"I heard about the case in Central City. And I knew the attack in Star City would bring your attention over here. Especially given the party involved...an old friend of yours."
"We've met."
Those words cause a chuckle to come from the shadows. An attractive redhead woman around Barry's age steps out. She ties her hair back in a ponytail, wearing a nice button up black blouse, and a tight pair of blue jeans. Her brown eyes hold a look which showcases her inquisitive nature.
"Hello, Barbara."
"Hello, Flash."
Just the other day, Barbara is a big help in assisting Team Flash, although under another alias.
"It's good to see you again."
"Yeah, you too."
With the casual greeting out of the way, the three can get down to business. Barbara takes a deep breath before joining Black Canary and Flash off to the side.
"I'm surprised that you're not in any kind of costume."
"Well, I wasn't really expecting you to run all the way over here. So, I couldn't really prepare some kind of dramatic meeting. So, I guess you're going to have to deal with me naturally."
Barbara, Laurel, and Barry stop at the staircase. In particular, Barbara leans over and a very thoughtful expression spreads over her face.
"So, there's a difference between the Councilmember who was found dead in Star City and the other Councilmembers in Central City. You know the three in Central City were squeaky clean as can be."
Barry answers with a nod.
"And trust me, I did my fair share of digging into every aspect of their life. None of them have so much as an unpaid parking ticket or overdue library book. They're completely clean and that's...well that's interesting to be perfectly honest. There still has to be a connection and I'm going to find out what."
That being said, Barbara does have information.
"The murder victim, the one with the riddle attached to her, she's about as dirty as they come. She's in the league with organized crime, in both Star and Gotham City. She's the go between of Rupert Thorne. You know who he is, right?"
"Of course, one of the most prominent mob bosses in Gotham City. Some say he has aspirations of being the Kingpin of Gotham City."
Barbara grimly nods. Of course, Thorne's aspirations and actual reality lining up are two different things. There's a couple more prominent parties who have that role on lock. Then again, Gotham City is if nothing else.
"So, let's compare notes...and you can meet the rest of the team Laurel and I have been putting together to help put together the slack when the Green Arrow is dealing with personal issues."
X-X-X
"Be thankful I'm not him because you would be carried in here unconscious and drugged."
A brief smile passes over Barry's face. They enter a rather lavish Clocktower in Star City. The trio settles in with three more parties. One of them Barry knows off hand. An attractive dark-skinned female wearing a mystical totem offers Barry a smile and leans in to him with a smile.
"It's good to see you again."
"Same here...so...how have you been?"
Mari McCabe, Vixen, offers him a warm smile.
"I've been good. When Black Canary and Oracle came to me about this team, well they're not too people who you say no too. And besides, it's not a full time gig, at least right now."
"We're just happy to have you aboard on the team."
Barry looks to the other two women. One of them offers him a smile, an attractive young blonde woman, wearing a soothing attire of blue and white. The other woman, an auburn haired woman with a very nice figure, gives him a sharp look as if suspicious of him. She wears red and also black, showing herself the polar opposite of the other woman.
"Flash, it's an honor to finally meet you I'm….Dawn Granger...Dove, and this is my sister, Holly, or Hawk, as she's called."
Holly, Hawk, rolls her eyes at her sister's bubbly words.
"Are you really sure it's a good idea to tell him our secret identities?"
"Barbara trusts him and Laurel trusts him...and besides, it's the Flash."
"Yeah, I know who he is...so...welcome to the official headquarters of the Birds of Prey."
Holly Granger being the more military minded of the two sisters, always assesses the situation as much as possible. She considers her younger sister, to be a bit naive sometimes. She trusts people and takes them at face value.
"So, how did you get recruited?"
"Well, Laurel got me out of trouble when we went to school, and Dawn, she knew Laurel's sister, they went to high school together."
Barry answers with a brief nod. That makes a lot of sense of how they got together.
"So this everyone?"
Laurel confirms with a nod.
"We have a couple of more people we're looking at, but we need to find out how they fit in with the rest of the team. But…."
Barbara walks over to the computer system, and Barry whistles at how state of the art that is. Then again, the world's foremost information broker will have to have her resources.
"Okay, finally, finally, we have a connection to them, other than being public servants. They won the Carson Award for Humanitarian Efforts, four out of the past five years."
"Sapphire's up for that award...do you think we could give her the heads up?"
"Yeah we should...but we also should look at the person who won the award five years ago because she could be a potential target as well."
An image flashing on the computer monitor causes Laurel to take in a deep breath. She frowns.
"Moira Queen but…."
Barbara grimly nods in response.
"She's dead...but you know what they say...the children often pay for the sins of the parents...unless we're reading this wrong. Still, Oliver could be the target."
"I'll talk to him."
Laurel smiles at Barry and gives him a look which says "better you than me."
"Give me a swift kick up the ass for me."
Barry cannot help and smile. Mari, Dawn, and Barbara look amused at that statement and even Holly cracks a bit of a smile. Laurel grabs Barry's hand and pulls him back.
"Whatever you do, don't bring up Felicity's name. If you want to get through to him in any way."
There's no need for Laurel to tell him because Barry figures about that much out. Still, the heads on on Laurel's behalf is something that is completely appreciated.
"And good luck."
X-X-X
In a flash, Barry makes it over to the loft which Oliver stays at. He knocks on the door.
"Alright, Oliver...it's me, Barry. I know you didn't answer my last call but I'm just here to talk. There's some crazed serial killer going after people and…."
The door swings open and Oliver Queen is on the other side. He looks a bit grimy, with scraggly long hair and a beard which makes him look like he belongs in some backwoods swamp somewhere. Barry cannot even tell when the last time Oliver shaved was.
"Come in Barry...I'd say make yourself at home but…."
The mess in Oliver's loft shows exactly why there would be very few people who would make himself at home. Oliver walks, which is a lot more than he can say.
"So, you can walk?"
"Well, what would the point be of therapy if I didn't make any headway."
The two make their way over and Barry quickly clears off the couch to give both of them a place to sit down. Oliver sits down and Barry joins him.
"Megan's been over about three times a day to check up on me...you remember her right."
Barry does remember Megan, who is a dead ringer for Felicity. To the point where to be honest, it kind of creeps him out. He wisely does not mention the unspeakable name to Oliver. Who, if he knows Oliver, is likely blaming himself for Felicity's death. Despite that blame on Barry and Felicity herself.
Regardless though, Barry came to the realization that you cannot blame yourself for what happened in the past forever. Just learn from the mistakes because trying to go back to the past and fix it is not a good idea.
"She's trying to talk to me about my problems, making sure that I'm eating well...making sure I'm not regressing….I can walk about, I really don't need her….but she's there….and I'm beginning to think she might be a bit obsessed with me."
"You sure she's not just doing her job?"
"Maybe...but there are times where she reminds me of...well she reminds me of the people in my life before I took them onto the crusade. And I don't want that to happen. Not again."
Barry's pretty certain who Oliver is about to mention, but he stops it.
"I don't know what happened. You're not the man who encouraged me to be a hero."
"You're right...I'm not the man I used to be. I'm not half of the man that I used to be. And you, Laurel, and Thea, you're all much better at doing this than I am."
Barry begs to differ with Oliver. The aftermath of Felicity leaves his confidence shaken, although Barry's not sure how to bring him out of it. He doubts anyone, other than Oliver himself, knows how to do that.
"So if this is about Star City needing a Green Arrow, you can just…."
"It's not."
Oliver stands up a bit straighter. The look of meacoly on his face spreads into one of curiosity.
"Then what, may I ask, are you doing here?"
"You're a potential target...from a crazed criminal. The man who is coming after you, is Edward Nygma. Do you recognize…."
"You mean that nutcase from Gotham who is fascinated with riddles, Saw death traps, and is a bit OCD….yeah I've heard of him.."
"Three victims dead from a killer in Central City, and he's not happy about them. So he killed a fourth victim, and they all won the same humanitarian award your mother won. Look."
The computer print out slips form Barry's hand into Oliver's. The side-lined vigilante studies it a minute. The same grim assessment that Barry's likely come to reached Oliver.
"So since my mother's dead, you think that he might come after me…."
The evidence Barry shows Oliver is enough to make him stand up and take notice for it.
"So, are you asking me to be bait to draw Nygma out? Providing of course he's after me."
"I don't know if bait's the right word, but if you're seen in public…."
Oliver holds up his hand to silence Barry.
"One time, I'll help this one time, because we're friends and after all we've been through. But after, this, no more."
A shudder reaches Barry's body. He heard those words before from one other person, who he pulls back out of seclusion. Felicity, when he and Iris visited her, and now she's...well they all know what happened to her.
Surely lightning can't strike twice?
"If the person behind this does not target me, he'll go after Thea. And I'm done losing people close to me."
And Oliver lets the implied statement hang. He would rather die than lose anyone else.
"There's a ceremony today where Sapphire's accepting the award. You should really take a shower and maybe shave."
"Yes thanks F..Barry."
X-X-X
The Carson Award for Humanitarian Efforts. Sapphire thinks the people she helps is it's own reward, and given some of the other people who got the award over the years, it's not as big of an honor.
Sapphire thinks the other project she's working on is also worthwhile. She cannot wait to show the world what she's doing. Regardless, she walks out, with two women following her. A blonde and an auburn haired woman flank her on all sides and seem to be watching her like a hawk. At least the auburn haired female watches Sapphire like one.
Regardless, her attention diverts to a person she does not expect to see.
"Oliver Queen. You've come out of your cave."
"Hello, Sapphire. How are you?"
"As well as can be expected. Sorry to hear about…."
"I'm doing well, thanks for asking."
The calmness and coolness in Oliver's voice takes Sapphire back a tiny bit. She inclines her head for a brief second. He steps closer to her.
"In all seriousness, congratulations...and you should watch your back. You never know when there would be trouble coming."
Sapphire knows because Oracle gave her the heads up. If someone targets her, well they may be in for a nasty little surprise.
Speaking of nasty little surprises, Sapphire finds him showing up once again. The one and only Lex Luthor, and both she and Oliver look at him the same way.
"Well, well, well, hello Oliver."
"Lex. You're looking quite well."
Lex finds a lot of amusement how Oliver ends up in his current state. The two men shake hands although there's some kind of power play going on. Lex tightens his grip around Oliver's hand and leans a bit closer into him.
"You could use a shave."
"I suppose you don't ever have that problem."
Lex chuckles and relaxes his grip on Oliver's hand.
"I'm pleased to see you brought your wit up to a third-grade level."
A large burly gentleman walks over and leans in to whisper something to Lex.
"Thank you, Otis. If you excuse me, the Mayor wants to see me. You were up for that, wouldn't you, Mr. Queen. Before you flaked out. I guess you missed your chance to make Star City great again."
A chuckle comes from Lex when he turns around. Sapphire already moves away and Barry moves over to talk to Oliver. Oliver turns around and gives him the side eye.
"This better be worth it to come out in public. I had no idea that he was going to be here."
"It will be worth it...you know to prevent murders. What's with you two together?"
"They went to boarding school together."
Laurel steps into the picture. Oliver steps back and looks at his once girlfrend, although that was long since into the history books. And she would be dead right now, if it was not for Barry mucking with the time stream.
And Felicity, she could be alive, and he would still be the Green Arrow. Life is complex like that.
"Ollie...glad to see you're still doing well."
"Laurel."
That's about all he can say. There's some amount of frostiness coming from Oliver.
"Barry, I just want to thank you for all the help you've given the DA's office when we worked on this case."
Without another word, Laurel leans in and gives Barry a light kiss, right in Oliver's line of sight. She steps back to go and talk with Barbara, acting like she did not do what she just did.
"I deserved that."
"What are you talking about?"
Oliver does not answer that question and walks off to move into the shadows. Barry turns around to meet Caitlin.
"I made it….Sapphire wanted me to suffer through this with her."
"Glad you're here because I can use some help...things are going to get heated."
Caitlin just grins at him. She squeezes Barry's hand and a light twinkle appears in her eyes.
"Which means I'm here to help cool it down."
X-X-X
Sapphire Stagg walks to the podium where a lot of eyes are on her. She's been giving speeches for most of her life, so she's not nervous.
And she's been a potential victim for a killer more times then she cares to count, so she understands how to deal with things there.
"The past three years, I've been looking to redeem the name Stagg. I know that my father did some things which some consider to be less than ethical, and I feel the pain of everyone. All of the stress and trauma he causes. Even though I saw a different side of him, I understand how you never saw that side of Simon Stagg so you cannot feel the same way."
There's a light applause although there's a few jeers. There's people in Star City who Simon Stagg's hurt and Sapphire cannot help this, but she feels for them. She really does.
"I've worked tirelessly to make the name Stagg more meaningful. I don't want people to fear bad times when they hear my family name. I want them to remember the good times."
There's more light applause.
"And it's more about acts then it is about awards. It's never been about awards for me. While I accept this award, doing the right thing and the people whose lives I enrich are worth a hell of a lot more. I don't see failure. I never have and I never will. I see challenges."
They applaud her just as louder. The presenter hands her the plaque. It's just another one that Sapphire receives that will go in the trophy case. Likely another thing for her maid to dust, and she does owe the woman a raise for all of the work she performs.
A loud buzzing up at the top of the stage gets the attention of Sapphire and the rest of the crowd. They all turn around.
Several egg shaped drones appear at the crowd. Sapphire braces herself for the moment of truth.
The auburn haired woman from earlier pulls her off of the stage and prevents Sapphire from being in the line of sight. It appears though that she's not the one in the line of sight.
The other target, the son of the man who won the award five years ago, is the targeting. One of the egg shape drones targets Oliver.
A blur rushes him out of the way.
Seconds later, Flash steps back with the drones targeting both him and Oliver. He rears back his hand and throws a bolt of lightning at it to crack the drone in half.
X-X-X
"Alright, everyone...there's no need to panic."
Telling people there's no need to panic often causes more panic. Still, Dawn Granger, Dove's, voice is so calm and pacifying, that it eases the frustration of the people on the stage.
Holly, on the other hand, she moves into perfection position. A red blade shoots from her suit and smacks into one of the drones. Another one of the drones bombards her from behind. Holly does a forward roll and a beam shoots to the ground.
A blur pulls her out of the way and sets Holly back up on her feet. She spends a couple of seconds catching her breath right before getting back into the battle.
Flash moves over to get some of the other people out of harm's way. He passes Black Canary who blasts one of the drones out of the sky. The flying metal is something she avoids when blowing up the device with her shrill Canary Cry.
Mari uses the force of a rampaging rhino to take out one of the drones. She directs her totem over and smashes into the drones. Sparks get sent everywhere.
Several icicles shoot up into the air. Killer Frost smiles and steps over to them.
"They sure don't make drones like they used to. Do they?"
The drones fall at her feet, encased in a heavy block of ice. Killer Frost breaks out into a soft smile and continues her treck forward.
Flash vibrates his arms and keeps the drones away from him. The egg shaped drones combine together to form one giant egg and then starts heating up.
"Frost!"
"On it!"
Killer Frost sends a beam of concentrated cold at the large egg. Flash blasts it up into the air and causes it to go as high as possible before it explodes high in the sky in Star City.
Dawn takes a deep breath. She blocks one of the drones and smashes it down onto the ground. She shows her athletic ability by somersaulting into the air and landing on top of one of the drones to drive it into the air.
"We'll make a fighter out of you yet, sis."
The first wave of drones calm down. A second wave come in. Flash, Killer Frost, and the Birds of Prey brace themselves for a second attack.
Only a figure wearing a high tech silver and gold bodysuit appears in the distance. She launches a beam of light which causes the eggs to freeze in mid air. She circles around the eggs and blasts all but one of them into particle dusts.
Flash whistles in response as the new heroine drops down to the ground.
"Okay that's...new."
The mysterious woman in the armor drops down to face Barry. She becomes not so mysterious when her face plate retracts just enough for Barry to see that it's Sapphire Stagg underneath the armor.
"I figured we should leave one of them intact to study them."
X-X-X
The group returns back to the Clocktower to study the drone. Sapphire in particular is still running away with the high of being out there and finally being in the thick of things. Flash, Killer Frost, and Oliver joins the Birds of Prey.
"So, do you think that he's going to target me again?"
Barbara, bending over the drone and studying it closely, takes a second to answer.
"An obsessive never stops at one failed attempt. He just redoubles his efforts. I'm going to try and find a way to track the relay signal. Even if it's to a transmitter, he may be vain enough to leave some kind of clue behind."
While Barbara does that, she looks up at Sapphire and smiles at her.
"So, a billionaire wearing a high tech suit of battle armor, that's really original."
"Hey, my suit is better than Palmer's."
Sapphire grins at her. Dawn and Holly step into the room. Holly walks over to Barry.
"You're alright...I guess sometimes I let my trust issues get the better of me."
"It's fine...it happens to the best of us."
Dawn gives Barry a warm smile.
"You okay? You took a couple of hits out there. I could look you over real quick if you like."
"Actually, Caitlin's already done that."
Caitlin smiles and Dawn feels a chill. Then again, she is only talking to Killer Frost. Although, she really does need a more friendly name if she's going to be on the side of good.
"Well, if you need a secondary physical."
She gives Barry a longing look and Holly rolls her eyes at her sister's less than subtle antics.
Barbara chuckles and smiles.
"Can you…."
"Done...it's not getting a transmission to a place. That's very odd."
A green question mark hologram pops out of the drone. Suspicion rings true on the entire group. Barry frowns and he cannot help, but voice what everyone else is thinking.
"It's almost like he wanted us to find one of the drones and bring it back."
"Riddle me this. What is a word that is both an antiquated term for a woman and a term for being another country."
Laurel and Barry both feel queasy and Oliver narrows his eyes.
"Being abroad."
Everything clicks in his head. As if on cue, Laurel's cell phone goes off. They are all thinking the same thing.
"Dad? Actually...yeah he's….I can get him there if you want."
There's no need for Oliver to ask what Quentin wants to see him about. They know, given that cryptic riddle. The one thing that Oliver attempts to avoid by being out in the open, happens.
X-X-X
The long walk to the SSPD happens. Oliver arrives with Laurel and Barry tagging along for moral support. A very grim looking Quentin appears at them.
Quentin know the look of someone who has hit bottom, having seen that face staring back at him in the mirror several times. He really thinks Oliver needs help, but that's not his place to say. And given their stormy relationship in the past, he doubts Oliver would listen to him, despite Oliver closing in on the point he was at after the Queen's Gambit went down and he thought Sara died.
"I'd say you look awful, but this news is going to make you feel worse."
There's no sugarcoating this really bad situation.
"It's Thea."
"We're doing everything in our power to find her. I've even contacted Gordon to see if he can come up with anything, given his...friend has dealt with this nutcase in the past before...but so far, nothing."
Quentin wordlessly takes the disc off of his desk and puts it back into the player. The grainy images of a subdued Thea at the bottom of an hourglass shows. Laurel's mouth opens, Oliver clutches the side of the desk in rage, and Barry looks a bit agitated.
"The sands of time run out at midnight. Unless you solve my puzzle."
Oliver looks at the clock. Five minutes till eleven at night. That does not leave them with too much time. Thea's face helplessly pressed against the glass is the last image they see before the camera fades to static.
Chapter Eighteen:
Barry, despite it being very painful to even look it, exhausts several possibilities and looks at the video sent to the Star City Police Department. He finds something, or rather he hears something. The first lead they have, as the time runs down.
"Are you sure about this? Because even the fastest man alive doesn't have time to be tracking down false leads with my sister's life on the line."
"Maybe you should…."
"She's in this mess because of me."
Flash, Black Canary, and coming out of retirement for one night, the Green Arrow, make the trek across Central City. Its one of the worst parts of town. There's a fair amount of gang violence in this particular part, even more so than usual.
"So, can you hear me?"
The voice of Barbara Gordon, better known as Oracle, comes over the ear pieces. Oliver grunts in response.
"I'm sorry, I don't speak fluent caveman."
Laurel shakes her head. Barbara and Oliver never got along. Ever, even before Lian Yu, but Laurel hoped that Barbara would keep the snark down for sake of the serious situation they were long.
"Sorry, he hears you. I do hear you as well. And Barry…."
"Hear you loud and clear...and I'm also hearing train tracks much like the ones that I heard on the tape. We're getting close, I can feel it."
Oliver trusts Barry's judgment here, although there's a part of him who thinks that if the attack succeeded in killing him, it would be all over. Despite people telling him his life is worth something to a lot of people, Oliver cannot help but think how much better off if he died on the Gambit.
Pushing that dark thought aside, Oliver focuses on the most important thing in his life. Finding his sister and putting an arrow through Nygma's smug face. Despite the fact that he's not as much fired an arrow since the battle with Damien Darhk, Oliver's confident that he can make an exception.
"To let you know something, the egg drones were based off of technology made by two criminals who fought the Justice Society of America. Brilliant people, ahead of their times. And also two of the most dangerous criminals the JSA has ever fought. They go by the names Egghead and Egg-Fu...retired right now."
Barry figures about two possibilities through his lightning quick thoughts.
"So, either they came out of retirement or….Nygma decided to copy their technology."
"Pretty rich for someone who essentially threw a fit over someone copying their MO."
That is just a tiny bit hypocritical, Barry's not going to lie. Regardless, they need to move forward.
"Nygma's normally not this sloppy. Of course, he could be luring you into a false sense of security, so be careful."
"Always."
Barry, Laurel, and Oliver make their next movement. The trio hopes to be able to shake someone down in an attempt to find out some information. Unfortunately for them, time is very much not on their side.
X-X-X
Thea tries to conserve her oxygen inside of the hour glass. Despite the fact the sands of time run out, she remains alert. Although more alert than she was earlier. Thea taps on the edge of the glass to judge the thickness of it.
The archer monitors her surroundings in the most careful manner possible. She sees a couple of different options, although she must act quick on them.
"You surely must have known by now that there's no chance of escape. My brilliant mind has deduced every possible way you could have escaped. I have you, right where I want you, Ms. Queen. And you will draw him out."
"Ollie's not coming."
"No, I don't mean you useless lump of a brother. I mean the person...who tried to steal my thunder. And he did it quite badly. I'm going to...he won't be happy that I took a second one of his victims."
Thea allows him to talk nonsense when seeing what she needs to deal with. A couple of seconds later, Thea slips off her boots and then works at removing the buckles on them.
'Plugging the hole might buy me a few more minutes. I'm going to need to find a way out of this and find a way out of it quickly, before time runs out. It's not on your side today, is it, Thea?'
What little she has, Thea needs to work with it. Think outside of the box. As much as she hates to admit it, Malcolm teaches her about that much. He teaches her an extremely valuable and useful lesson which she can take to the bank.
"Not even the Flash can find you in time. No doubt, those fools are running over, chasing down false leads. But, no one knows where I am and more importantly, no one knows where you are. You are going to be buried alive, Ms. Queen."
Thea really wishes she remembers how she got here. Between leaving the hotel and ending up at the bottom of this hour glass, it's a whole big blank. Thea racks her brain and finds absolutely nothing.
'Okay, just chill...you almost got...there you go.'
One buckle out of a boot and now Thea endeavors to move the other one right before she really gets to work. She chews on her lip in evident frustration. Sand pouring on her hair and slowly filling the bottom of the glass measures the amount of time before her time runs out.
"Tick tock."
Thea really wishes she has a set of earplugs because they come in handy most of any tool she could think of.
X-X-X
Green Arrow steps forward and takes a good look at his surroundings. It's a lesson drilled into his head from a long time ago. Much like riding a bike, Oliver never forgets this important fact. Black Canary steps behind him and Flash joins them.
A loud gunshot brings their attention off to the side. Two warring gangs square off with each other.
"Man, you better back off man! You better back off our turf! This street, it belongs to us."
"Yeah, you think this is your yard. Well, around here, I'm the big dog."
"Big dog, more like little bitch!"
This is about to escalate really quickly between the two groups, a combination of men and women about ready to go to war over this small piece of Starling City.
It's going to escalate, only if they allow it to do so. Barry does not intend to allow it. He jumps up and disarms the criminals several at a time.
The speedster causes their breath to be taken away. One of them swings a punch at Flash. Only to find him on the other end of the docks.
An arrow catches one of the gang members in the back of the leg and drops him down onto the ground. Green Arrow drops down on. The gang member's leg bone cracks underneath the attack.
Black Canary sends a stack of cracks flying with a canary cry and blocks their path.
Green Arrow stands on the chest of the gang member and puts the arrow at his head. The gang leader looks up with a bloody smile.
"Don't think you have the stones to do that, boy. Heard that you've gone soft. Heard that some bitch had to whipped."
"Where is Edward Nygma?"
The gang member responds by spitting right in the face of the hooded vigilante. Something no one dares to do about two years ago, but yet, this gang member does.
"Do I look like I hang around like a fruitcake like that?"
The Green Arrow puts his arrow at the neck of the man in question.
"I'm not playing around."
"Sure you aren't, mang. Sure you aren't? You don't think I know what's going on, Chico? You don't have anything on me, and you aren't going to hurt me because you're a good little boy scout now. You are the bitch of the pigs because….."
A Canary Cry causes a lampost to shatter and glass to fall down onto the ground. Black Canary takes a piece of glass and puts it on the side of the neck.
"How would you like someone have that scream in your ear?"
"Hey, Chico...give them the little present!"
One of the gang members throws a box at the feet of the tiro. Barry catches it and disarms the bomb on it. The box blinks and causes the entire group to hold their collective breaths.
"It's a puzzle cube."
"What's the code?"
"Hey, man, for real, he didn't give us any code."
Barry whirls through all of the possible codes at the speed of light before disarming the puzzle cube and opening it open to see its secrets.
"Oi….you're nothing but a dirty filthy cheater, Flash! But, you know what, I'll allow it….for now. Because, the game is about to get more interesting."
"Where is Thea Queen?"
"Nah, ah, ah, you haven't solved my puzzle yet, speedster? Riddle me this. What has to be broken before it can be used?"
The answer comes, another army of egg drones come up out of the murky waters. They move in to surround Black Canary, Flash, and Green Arrow. Already, the Green Arrow arms himself. A beam knocks his bow out of his hand before he can fire.
"You'll find these are more difficult to take down...but you must. Ms. Queen's life depends on it. Thirty minutes."
X-X-X
"Even you must realize how much your time is running out. You can barely hold your head above the water and concentrate. Soon, there will be nothing left for you to do."
Thea finishes doing what she needs to do despite the taunting.
"Well, no one is going to be able to get anything done if you have that kind of attitude."
Fierce determination spreads over the eyes of the young heiress. She will find a way out.
"You're not going to break out. There's no way…."
Thea smashes her way through the hourglass and causes it to break just enough for her to be able to slip out. Blood spills down her wrist when slicing it and escaping. A deep breath comes over her, along with the sharpest of sharp pain. Thea cradles her arm and groans.
She may have a cut up wrist, but determination wins the day. Thea's going to do everything in her power to kick in the head of the asshole who did this to her. Despite being beaten up in every single way possible, she persists in moving forward. A frustrating groan just goes right over her body. Thea cradles said arm and ignores all of the agony spreading over her body and there's an immense amount of it as she moves forward.
"No! Impossible!"
Those words cause a smile to spread over Thea's face. The smile quickly fades when a laser blaster fires across the room and connects with the floor. Thea stops short and freezes in her face.
"Now! Now...you have to cross the room. And you have to disable the security defenses without triggering any of them. And you have only ten minutes to do it. Some of the tiles on the floor will mean certain and inevitable doom for you. Acid, lasers, and poison gas. Are you lucky and are you smart enough?"
The voice breaks up and Thea takes a slight step forward. Every time she steps, it is a gamble.
"And you will drown in poison gas if you don't hurry."
Thea holds in a deep breath and nods. She closes her eyes and lets her instincts to forward.
X-X-X
Oliver misses two out of the five shots that he does on the drones with a barrage of arrows. One might say at least he hits over half, but the Green Arrow's frustration hits a fever pitch. Two of the drones fire down at him until Flash runs up a plank and rotates his arms. The drones explode into the mid-air.
"I wish we could do what we did back there."
Black Canary lets out a Canary Cry. The drones explode in the air and shower them with flying metal and other bits of debirs. The frustrated vigilante heroine moves back a couple of steps and takes in her breath.
"Maybe, but I don't think it's going to work again."
Green Arrow climbs up to a landing to get a better shot at the targets. Several arrows whip out and connect with the flying drones.
The drones fly down one at a top, with Flash, Green Arrow, and Black Canary working together to take them out.
"It's under ground…..under the train tracks."
Flash comes to a realization and he moves fast, but not so fast that Black Canary and Green Arrow cannot keep a good pace. They make their way into a utility cabin and Barry pulls back the floor mats to reveal the entrance to an underground tunnel. Green Arrow drops down first, with Flash following, and Black Canary joining then just seconds later.
"This is almost too easy."
Green Arrow, pushed forward by a single minded desire to protect his sister at all costs, moves a bit forward. They make their way to a slightly open door. He ignores Flash's assessment and persists forward.
"Yeah, it's almost too easy."
Black Canary backs up his words with a statement of her own. The trio walks down the tunnels. The sound of the train yard above matches the one on the tape.
The door comes open to reveal a man sitting at a computer system, with video images of Thea trapped in the hour glass playing. Green Arrow rears back and pulls his arrow back.
"Where's my sister?"
"Oh, you are move too easy. And I didn't expect this tonight. Three, count them, three heroes for the price of one."
The door slams shut and then metal bars lock it into place. Flash rushes in and vibrates his way through the door, only to find himself blown back and on the ground.
"Come on, Scarlet Speedster! Did you really not think someone of my intellect would not be prepared for you? I'm twenty steps ahead and you will lose the game we're playing."
The voice cracks and the tape skips over several times. The cackling madman echoes through the room and makes Green Arrow clench his bow.
"Where is Thea Queen?"
"I ask the questions around here, or rather the riddles. Now, riddle me this, my hooded simpleton. How does one drown without getting wet?"
The answer comes pouring through the vents, in the form of gas. Things go from bad to worse as far as they are concerned. Large fans whirl to life and fill the small room they are in with an almost smothering amount of gas.
"Stand back!"
Barry starts to rotate his arms in a circular motion to knock the gas back. Only to find that the ground underneath his feet sends him back with an electric charge. He smacks into the wall with a force of a car hitting a wall at super speed and causes him to groan.
Black Canary moves over as Green Arrow rears back and tries to blow a hole through the vent. The gas makes it beyond difficult to explode.
"I'm fine...just loopy."
There's got to be some hole in there. It's a game for Riddler, and there's always a way to win. Unless, of course he cheats them.
Barry thinks though his vanity will find them a way out.
X-X-X
Thea steps on the blocks, avoiding the traps. The bomb at the end of the room triggers some kind of release, she is sure of it. She's going to have to disable it.
"One wrong move and you will lose! You are almost there. You don't want to choke, do you?"
Thea walks over and makes it to the bomb. She undoes the back cover of the bomb. It should not be too difficult, at least she thinks it is going to do.
"Oh, you better be careful. You do this wrong, and it will blow up in your face. They're going to be scrapping whatever's left of you off of this wall."
Thea closes her eyes to take a deep breath. She moves carefully to dismantle the bomb before time runs out. It's a very nerve-racking process to get it done both right and get it done quickly.
"What do you hope to gain from this anyway?"
This particular question causes the taunting voice to ring out.
"Satisfaction that there's not one person who can match me. There's not one person who can be my intellectual peer and my equal. There's no way they can stop me. You will fail...just like Black Canary, Green Arrow, and Flash are about to fail."
So someone is trying to save her. Well, she's about ready to save themselves.
"Are you just lashing out because Batman made an idiot out of you time and time again?"
Thea's hunch indicates this will get under the man's skin. The loud sputtering and the agonizing scream coming from the other room proves that she's on point, at least she thinks she's on point.
"YOU! YOU! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT?"
A couple more wires and she will have this wrap up.
"Batman is nothing other than a fool. He's lucky! He's not even a fraction as brilliant as I am. He cheats constantly and then he sends me to Arkham, when he games the system. I'm not crazy! I'm not crazy! He's the crazy one! He's got all of Gotham fooled. Bamboozled! Tricked! Hornswoggled! I'll prove it. I will prove just how much of a genius I am. He...he believes in me!"
"Who believes in you?"
"Never mind! You are nothing but a deluded little girl, if you think that you are getting out of here alive."
Thea disables the bomb and also all of the traps around the room.
"What? How...how did you do it? It's impossible! IMPOSSIBLE! There's no way you could have solved it."
"Maybe, I'm smarter than you."
A loud scream of agony fills Thea's ears and the voice crackles. The sound of a room being smashed into bits echoes throughout the area.
"Do you need a safe space? Because you're obviously triggered, snowflake."
Thea smirks as he's been successfully gotten to. The moment of truth comes with Thea working her plan to get out of there and get out of there now.
She's pleased, and also a bit nervous. One never does know what other problems can come down the road.
X-X-X
Flash zips about the room, frantically searching for a valve or something. Black Canary unleashes a canary cry on the door. It does not even budge a second.
"I'd say we got a minute."
Oliver slumps over the chair. He finds himself already succumbing to the gas, delirious as all can be. His vision blurs over when he coughs several times.
"I don't know…."
"Just stay with us, I'll find a way out of here!"
Flash's heart speeds up. There's a high sense of urgency to find a way out of there. An idea comes to his mind.
Before the Fastest Man alive even has a chance to enact the idea, the gas stops popping into the room. Then the fans in the room reverse course and starts to pump the gas out of the room.
Black Canary, Flash, and Green Arrow wait for what's going to happen next. Is this just another thick part of the game?"
The door pushes open and Thea stands on the other side.
"Weren't you supposed to be the ones saving me?"
Black Canary gives her a smile and she and Flash help a dizzy Green Arrow out of it.
"That's the plan."
"Well, I guess plans change. You know I'm not about to be someone who sits around and plays damsel in distress all day. If there's a chance…."
"Good, I'm proud of you."
Thea notices Oliver's shaky tone and also his body. He's a bit out of shape. Not physically, but mentally and emotionally, and it obviously wears on him.
"I have a good idea that Nygma is somewhere in the facility. Let's go."
Thea helps Laurel shoulder Oliver's burden.
"I can walk."
"Obviously you can't. Why did you go after me when you obviously out of practice?"
"Because, it's my fault."
"Not always….I'm not sure what happened to be honest. I guess I let my guard down, but damned if remember."
Thea spends some time racking her brain for the next several seconds. There's really no time to think when the room around starts filling up with water.
"Oh, you'll still drown! All of you. But, I guess this time you still might get wet! That's the price for cheating! There's no way you would have won this fairly."
Black Canary rolls her eyes.
"Oracle was right, he's a sore loser."
Flash walks over water as fast as possible. He notices a large release drainage system underneath the water. The water rises quickly. Despite the others reaching higher ground, he knows that in a matter of seconds, that won't matter.
A super fast cyclone allows the drain to rip up out of the ground and suck the rush of water. He clears a dry path down, with the others following them. They make it out of the corridor and to a staircase leading to what appears to be a factory of some sort.
Green Arrow almost collapses down on the ground behind them. He takes a deep breath. Thea leans over and helps him up.
"Ollie, diet."
She says this only so the two of them can hear each other. She turns to Black Canary and Flash.
"I think you should stop him. I'll get him out of here."
"And here I thought I was supposed to be the one rescuing you."
"Hey, it's the current year. Gender roles change."
She says this comment in jest, knowing full well some would say it somewhat seriously and make a big deal out of it. She gets both herself and Oliver out, thus relying on Barry and Laurel to capture the criminal who caused this all.
X-X-X
Flash runs up to the rooftop, with Black Canary climbing up as fast as she can behind him.
A helicopter containing the master criminal who caused this entire mess is about ready to go up.
"Not this time! You're not getting away."
Flash runs up and grabs onto the helicopter. The eyes of the criminal widen and he looks absolutely furious at being tricked and then escaping from another trap.
"Hands off me….you idiot, you're going to make me crash."
"No, I'm not!"
The helicopter lands back on the rooftop. Riddler scrambles out and tries to run away. Right until Black Canary jumps up and kicks him in the back of the leg. Riddler drops down onto his knees in a howling agony.
"It's over, Nygma."
"Oh, bravo. You're going to send me to Arkham, I'll be cleared or escape in the latest prison break. And I'll be back, I always come back."
"What are you hoping to gain from this?"
Nygma breaks out into a fit of amused laughter. His eyes lock onto Flash over the next several seconds.
"You know something, for the fastest man alive, you are the slowest thinker on the planet. And you miss the blatantly obvious when it's staring in your face."
The look of smug superiority is one that both Barry and Laurel agree they wish to wipe off of his face.
"Oh, you don't know? You honestly haven't figured out that someone wants your attention. And it appears they got your attention and is getting under your skin. And it's just beginning. The scheme of the Brain Trust's leader will be your Waterloo, Flash."
"What are you talking about. Brain Trust?"
"Oh, you really want me to answer that riddle. It's someone who you know very well, Barry."
Flash jumps back a step, getting a bit of a start when Riddler calls him by his real first name. How does...that raises a lot more questions. Black Canary puts her staff at Riddler's face and he takes a deep breath.
" And given he obviously left me out to dry….I suppose I can give you a free answer to this one riddle which you're so ignorantly stupid you cannot even figure out the obvious."
"You don't know, do you?"
That taunting comment causes Riddler to sputter.
"Of course I know, you dunce! The leader of the Brain Trust is…."
Edward Nygma's eyes snap into the back of his head. Drool drips from his mouth and blood oozes from the side of his nose.
"Nygma! Damn it!"
He's seconds away from telling them the information. Police sirens start to go off in the background. Nygma's eyes stare blankly. It's almost like the lights are on, but there's no one home to join the point.
"He's gone. He's all gone."
Still breathing, but there's nothing in his mind which indicates that he's aware of his surroundings. Edward Nygma pops a drool bubble out of the side of his mouth.
X-X-X
The image of Nygma's blank face goes through Barry's mind. He and Laurel stand outside of the Hallways of Star City General hospital, waiting for the news. Barbara joins them a couple of seconds later to give them the news.
"Nygma suffered a severe brain aneurysm. He's barely alive, but there's a chance he will be a vegetable for the rest of his life."
Despite the man's narcissism and being a sociopath, Barry cannot help and feel that for someone like Nygma, this is one of the worst parts possible.
"And just when he was going to tell us who was leading this Brain Trust who is going after me. That can't be a coincidence."
"No, it can't be."
A second passes with Laurel putting her hand underneath her chin and entering deep thought mode. She knows know how Nygma is a pawn in some greater game. Some good men and women died for this game. And they are no sooner to solving the problem as it presents itself.
"He knew who I was."
There's no question about it. Whoever is behind the brain trust, knows who Barry is. Laurel and Barbara stand back and offer their sympathetic smiles.
Someone knowing the secret identity to anyone who wears a mask out there has power of the people. And the fear they will target someone's loved ones makes them completely and utterly dangerous.
Laurel steps back for a second, almost thinking she sees a ghost. She remembers and frowns.
"Oliver's physical therapist?"
The blonde woman with glasses makes her way into the office and talks to the doctor, looking a bit urgent.
"She says her name is Megan Harris."
"Mmm."
That was the only statement which comes out of Barbara. A second passes when Megan goes in and Thea passes her. She moves over to join the rest of them.
"Am I the only one who is creeped out by how much she looks like Felicity. As in exactly."
Laurel and Barry nod wordlessly. Barbara ticks off the possibilities in her head.
"Clone, Alternate Earth Counterpart, she is Felicity with her memories wiped due to reasons, shapeshifter, robotic duplicate, long lost twin sister, identical cousin…."
All of those possibilities are ones which Barry feels could potentially hold water. Yet, he cannot help and think they might be paranoid for no good reason.
"Or it could be just a coincidence."
"Oh, my sweet summer child."
Barbara smiles at the thought. Possible, she guesses, but in their line of work, there's no such thing as coincidences. She will have to dig deeper, see what this Megan girl's story is.
X-X-X
Laurel and Barry return back to the Clocktower.
"So, an interesting day?"
A smile crosses over Laurel's face when she moves closer to Barry.
"It was nice working with you again. And I hope we are able to work more intimately together in the future."
The word intimate triggers a thought in Barry's mind. He closes in on Laurel and decides to go for broke by asking the next question.
"What happened the other day? When you kissed me in front of Oliver. Was that….did that have any meaning? Or were you just doing that to rile up Oliver?"
"Well, I didn't intend to rile him up on purpose...although we've most certainly had our share of differences. I've moved on from it though, and he moved on, at least I hope he did."
There's too much baggage there for it to work. Maybe in another life, but Laurel doubts that it will ever work in this one. It's a shame, as there have been times she thought about what might have been if Oliver and Sara did not go on that boat together behind her back.
Five years of conflicting emotions, with Laurel not knowing what to believe she feel.
"And whether or not that means something, I'm pretty sure this means something."
She cannot deny the physical attraction she feels towards Barry and not because of the debt she owes him. She owes him her life.
Laurel leans in and gives Barry an extremely passionate kiss. The two lock lips with Laurel's fingers mover behind Barry. Barry wraps his arms around her tightly and moves her back. Laurel presses Barry against the wall and starts to undo his shirt buttons.
The elevator door opens up and Oliver Queen shows up just at the right time. Laurel pulls away.
Oliver casually walks in, acting as if his former girlfriend and his best superhero friend were not making out in the Birds of Prey Clocktower.
"How's Thea?"
Oliver gives Laurel a slight smile and a nod.
"She's fine."
Laurel walks out and Oliver stops her from going.
"You better take care of him...I know where you live."
That was not the statement that Laurel expects to hear. She just nods and walks off. This leaves Barry and Oliver alone.
"And for the record, I've moved on. She deserves someone who can take care of her and I know you can handle it better than I ever could. I don't know how, but you can. Not that neither of you need my blessing."
Oliver shifts his arms and sighs.
"Today's proved one thing. My body might be much better, but my mind is still a million miles away. It's time to return to basics."
"So, you're leaving?"
Oliver puts a hand on Barry's shoulder and nods.
"Star City is in good hands. And I know that Laurel and her team will be more than fine. Especially with Thea helping them and Diggle...if he decides to rejoin if comes home."
"Well, good luck."
Barry and Oliver shake hands.
"Thanks. And to you as well. You're the one who is in a relationship with multiple women at once after all. And I wasn't insane enough to try that one...well not one where they were all in on it."
Oliver closes his eyes at the thought of his rather….promiscuous past. And how much trouble it caused. And moves on for the future.
X-X-X
Back at the Star City version of Star Labs, just recently opened, Caitlin looks over the video feed of Nygma's messages.
"Someone's behind this and someone knows who you are."
Barry turns up to join Caitlin in the lab. Sapphire went back to have a lunch with some friends of hers who were in town for her award ceremony.
"And they know that Barry Allen and the Flash are one and the same."
Caitlin responds with a nod.
"I suppose we should start with the most obvious suspect."
"Thawne?"
"Bingo."
Barry smiles and thinks about it. He thought that they had been free of Thawne before, after Eddie sacrificed himself to wipe Thawne from existence. It did not take and the Reverse-Flash is still in time and still very much against him.
"Don't know...but I think it could be a couple of other people. Luthor, maybe."
"Yeah, I think he's a possibility. You know...because it seems like he's taken an unhealthy interest with you."
That's one constant of Lex Luthors the multiverse over. They take an unhealthy interest in those around them.
"Although, what about Grodd?"
"Grodd? We sent him to Earth-Two."
Caitlin smiles and puts her hand on Barry's shoulder.
"Think about it. It wouldn't be the first time that someone came back from an alternate Earth."
"Yeah, but Grodd's now living among his own kind. He has to be content by now."
Caitlin hopes so as well. All of the awful things Thawne did, and others did to Grodd angers her deeply. She takes a deep breath not to go all frosty regarding what's going on.
"Or it could be someone that we don't know."
Barry's statement makes Caitlin stop and nod.
"Yeah, I thought as much as well. It would be someone dangerous, someone with a sound mind to lead to some brain trust. Some great thinker we haven't dealt with before."
There's some suspects most certainly on who is behind the brain trust, but no clear evidence. Caitlin cannot help and throw out a crack theory to lighten the mood.
"I doubt very much it's Oliver's physical therapist no matter how much you're suspicious of her."
A smile cracks over Barry's face.
"I'm not suspicious. I just think it's…"
Caitlin just silences him with a kiss and smiles. They have a lot of thinking to do and it's a lot easier to think when her mind is clear.
Chapter Nineteen:
Caitlin and Barry enter a passionate liplock after a long and very hard day. It's time for them to unwind and to indulge in each other. Caitlin's hands roam down Barry's back and feel up his body. Barry pushes in for a very intense kiss, his tongue working deeper into Caitlin's warm mouth. The hunger dancing through her eyes only increasing.
Barry sits down on the bench and allows Caitlin to pull down his pants to reveal his throbbing hard cock. She puts a hand on the underside of his cock and squeezes it with a smile.
"I want this so badly."
"I know you do. Help yourself."
Caitlin tastes him from the head all the way down to the base. She licks his cock over with a well practiced symphony. Her warm tongue works over his manhood with jagged swirls from the tip all the way down to the base. The hunger in Caitlin's eyes flashes over just seconds before her lips wrap around him and start sucking him off.
The warm and perfect lips of his lover send pleasurable waves through Barry's body. Caitlin rubs his thighs while sucking him off to enhance the pleasure. Her beautiful eyes, with a hint of love and naughtiness in them. His hands plant on the back of Caitlin's head and allow him to ease into her mouth.
The back of her throat is warm and causes pleasure to just build further into his body. Barry puts a hand on the back of her head and goes in just a tiny bit deeper into her throat. His balls slap down on her chin the further and faster Barry buries himself into her mouth.
"Mmm...mmm!"
Those lovely moans pass through the room. The deeper Barry goes in, the more Caitlin enjoys sucking on his big, hard prick. Caitlin pulls back almost all the way and swirls her tongue against Barry's head. The cock stands up and then she works more of him into her mouth, sucking him off with blistering intensity.
Caitlin really shows how talented she is with these actions and she edges Barry ever so closer. He groans and it's obvious how close he gets. Caitlin doubles down and sucks on his manhood some more. She fondles his balls to add an increasing amount of urgency. He gets closer and closer to exploding, about ready to bury a warm load into her waiting mouth.
The loud popping and humming around his manhood sends Barry spiraling closer to the edge.
"Close...get ready."
She only speeds up on her downward motions, spiking him into the back of her throat. Barry cannot hold back anymore. The clenching feeling in his loins is the start to this.
He plants himself deeper into Caitlin's throat, sending his warm juices just flying down her throat. He holds on for the ride and looks into Caitlin's face. The pleasure in her eyes sends Barry forward to ride the back of her throat closer and closer to the final orgasm.
Caitlin holds onto his big cock, slurping on his manhood. She rolls her tongue around the edge of his manhood and pulls almost all the way back.
She tastes a good look of Barry's seed. Pulling her lips away, Caitlin smacks on her lips.
Barry stands up and Caitlin smiles before making a production out of swallowing his cum.
A flash sends Barry to take the rest of her clothes off. Barry pushes Caitlin back onto the lab table and he explores her gorgeous body with multiple sweet caresses and kisses. Caitlin softly moans.
"I don't know how you...you just make me feel so good."
"Just wait."
Barry switches between one erect nipple to the next. He kneads and twists them to send a soft sigh coming through Caitlin. He watches her sexy body move underneath him. His hands cup Caitlin's chest and release another steady shimmer of pleasure through her body. She looks at him with an increased feeling of lust just dancing through her eyes. They both know what's about to happen now.
A tease of her clit sends a jolt through Caitlin's body. She keeps it together with Barry working a finger deep inside of her and then a second finger. Barry pushes a third finger deeper inside of her and pumps Caitlin's wet pussy extremely hard. Her hot walls close down around him and she moans out loud with increasing pleasure building through her body.
"You tease me way too much."
"But isn't that part of the fun?"
Caitlin's eyes shift into a very frosty mode. Barry covers her body with what seems like hundreds of kisses and touches per minute. There's parts of her body which he grazes over. Caitlin's pussy throbs with need. She needs him inside of her in the worst way possible. She cannot help and long for him.
Barry pushes his manhood against her belly button and Caitlin shivers despite herself. He pulls her off of the table and sits down on it himself.
The next thing Caitlin knows, she straddles his lap. Her legs find their way around Barry's waist. His stiff rod comes close to entering her tight and very horny box. Barry puts a hand on her back and causes Caitlin to come closer and closer. It's all about the chase and he knows what she wants.
Finally, Barry spears Caitlin down onto him. His hard manhood shoves into her and makes her feel like a million dollars. Caitlin holds herself down onto him and rocks closer down onto his body. Barry pushes up and down into Caitlin, shoving more and more of his cock into her tight box.
"Damn, Cait...you really must be pent up."
"Any time I go a long time without this, it makes me pent up. Makes me feel so good to be with the man I love once again."
Caitlin slides her warm box around him and squeezes him. Every inch of Barry going into her is like a new blast of pleasure. It brings new life to her lovely body. The lust building between both of them is intense. Barry puts his fingers on Caitlin's nipples and squeezes them.
She moans when Barry's fingers squeeze around her nipples. He milks them and causes Caitlin to shift over the top of his manhood. Her wet walls clamp down onto Barry and release him with a very fluid motion. Her slick center drives down onto the man of her dreams.
"I need more of this! I need all of this! Give it to me Barry! Give it to me, hard!"
"Oh, you got it! Damn, Caitlin, you feel so good. I can do this all night."
"I know."
She buries her head into his shoulder and moans. Barry's hands lovingly caress her back and make Caitlin feel really good. He touches her in all of the places she enjoys being touched while having sex.
Caitlin closes in on Barry, not wanting to let him go, not wanting him to leave her, even though she knows how much he means to the other women in their growing circle. Given her past bad luck with relationships, Caitlin almost is too afraid to celebrate her good fortunate right here.
She has very good fortune, with how much Barry indulges in her right now. She leans back to allow him full access to her breasts which he keeps sucking.
"You're so good to me."
Barry nibbles on her nipples to make Caitlin just squeal in delight. She murmurs her declarations of pleasure. The relationship they have to actual coherent speech is pretty casual at best. Right now, Caitlin's pounding away at him, taking more of his manhood into her tight box. She closes around on him and lets out a pleasurable scream which only increases the deeper and faster he slams into her body.
Luck is something both of them have. Barry slides further and further into this woman. They build up their friction with each other. Caitlin goes completely Frosty for a second, as she does when she's either angry, scared, or really aroused. Her cool walls clamp down onto his manhood.
Barry's healing factor replaces the warmth she sucks from him inadvertently. He squeezes Caitlin's chest and makes her just adopt the smokiest, most lustful expression possible. Hadrian puts his fingers on Caitlin's nipples and responds by squeezing them to make her scream.
Caitlin slides herself all the way down, riding Barry like there's no tomorrow. She cannot do anything other than moan in his ear. She feels another orgams coming from her. She leans down and whispers in his ear.
"Come on, you know you want to come with me, Flash."
"Maybe...but I wouldn't want to go too fast."
She squeezes his hips and sinks down onto him. Caitlin's warm and accommodating hole tells the story of just how much she wants this. Barry intends to hold on to the very last minute, slamming into her tight box as far and fast as he is going to go. Caitlin clamps down onto him.
She wants him, in the worst possible way. Caitlin does anything to coax Barry's essence into her box. She bites down on his neck to the point where she draws blood.
Barry speeds up his thrusts with a more rapid pace through Caitlin's climax. Some windows in the lab frost over due to how hard she comes for him. Her slick walls coat Barry's manhood with squirting juices. Barry hangs onto her ass and keeps hammering away at her. The blur both of them become makes this a very intense meeting. He squeezes Caitlin's nipple and sends her further over the edge with a lustful moan.
"Give me what I want. Give it all to me, Flash."
She breaths in his ear. His manhood keeps pumping and it's getting closer to the edge. A roaring feeling enters Barry's balls the faster he goes into her. Caitlin rubs her chest up against his and grinds against him. She squeezes the life out of him. The rush of some of his body heat being sucked out of him somehow makes Barry hornier. He needs to speed up to keep the heat pumping through his body and the blood flowing.
Caitlin knows how to control this, to get the right amount of sexual arousal between them, but not to kill Barry. That would be a mood killer.
Regardless, his rock hard and throbbing manhood shows just how much life is left in in Caitlin works herself to a fever and gets closer and closer on Barry. She knows the ends here and she wants to be right here with him at the end. Barry holds onto her nipples and squeezes them. Caitlin screams out in pleasure.
She goes one more time which opens herself up for Barry to finish off into her. Barry hangs onto Caitlin and spears her wet box on a constant loop. Caitlin clamps down onto him and releases her juices down onto him. She lubricates his pole very nicely the deeper Barry hammers into her.
"Together."
Caitlin nods as Barry is already in the process of delivering another mind shattering orgasm. She's pretty sure some kind of declaration is about ready to come out of her mouth. The only thing is a gurgle of moaning coming out of her mouth. She clutches on tight to Barry and plants her slick walls further down on his mighty, throbbing rod.
They reach the end of the line and together. Caitlin slides her warm walls down onto him and makes sure he bottoms out on her when his balls clench from the incoming orgasm. Barry puts his hand on her back and slides himself into her.
The amazing feeling Barry and Caitlin share when they share this climax together sends stars through their line of sight. Barry holds Caitlin completely down onto his cock and makes sure to milk it down to the very last drop.
She pulls away from Barry and collapses on her side. Barry climbs behind Caitlin and wraps his arms around her, resting against her shoulder. His arms wrap around Caitlin.
"I'll be ready to go in a minute. But if you're not, I'm in no hurry."
Caitlin makes sure his stiff prick pushes against the back of her leg. Barry's hands find their way onto her chest and squeezes it. It's not going to be too long before Barry's back inside of Caitlin and taking her in pretty much every single way possible.
She naturally gives herself up to Barry. Things heat up even more, as he's about ready to make her melt in his grip. Barry slides into her, with his arms wrapping around her. He drives his manhood into her willing pussy as he spoons her. Her nipples stand up to be touched from Barry's position.
It's so good, it's so very good. Barry gave Caitlin everything she wanted. Over and over again.
X-X-X
Barry wraps things up with Caitlin and finds his way outside of Laurel's apartment. He decides there's no point in waiting around and knocks on the door.
Laurel answers the door in a tank top and a pair of lacy black thong panties. Barry finds himself speechless at how beautiful she looks in that simple outfit. Her soft looking legs come out on full display and her nipples almost poke out from behind her shirt.
"I'm glad you came, Barry. Why don't you come inside?"
"Gladly."
The two of them smile as Laurel takes Barry's hand and pulls him into the room.
"So, how are you?"
"Pretty good. Why don't you sit down on my bed and make yourself comfortable?"
Laurel leads Barry into the bedroom. The large bed she has allows them plenty of room to have some fun. Laurel guides Barry down onto the bed. She puts her hands on her hips and smiles at him.
"I've always thought you were cute. I didn't fully appreciate how amazing you were until now. And how much I needed a man like you in my life. Especially one who can keep multiple women at the same time satisfied. And….to think, if Ollie had just be upfront about his intentions with Sara, instead of lied to me behind my back."
Barry does not know what to think about that. Laurel leans in and kisses him on the lips to make sure that all conversations about Laurel's ex and their past problems leaves the room.
Laurel straddles Barry and makes out with him feeling like she was back in high school. Although, no one is able to touch and stimulate her body like this back then when kissing her. It's been a long time since Laurel's had anyone other than her own hands or a toy. Now, Barry's caressing her body and it's been way too long since Laurel's had so much attention on it.
She can feel his growing bulge pressing against her panty covered pussy. The only thing which stops them from getting down and dirty right away is their clothing. Which is perfect for Laurel because the chase thrills her.
Laurel pulls away from Barry and undoes his shirt. She feels up his body, not even an ounce of fat on it. This causes Laurel to smile and kiss Barry's chest before slowly working down onto him.
"How bad do you want me?"
"Real bad."
"Good boy."
Laurel pulls down Barry's pants and his undershorts. She looks at his big and beautiful cock. It just throbs and calls for Laurel. There's no used to making any comparisons to the past, all Laurel cares about now is the fact that his cock is standing upright and about ready to fit inside of her mouth.
"I think it wants to say hello."
She greets it with a long and warm kiss, pressing against him. Barry's hard cock head comes closer to slipping inside of her mouth. Laurel reaches between his legs and cups his balls while kissing on his cock.
"It's been way too long."
Laurel swirls her tongue around the head and licks him all over. The feeling of Barry's manhood twitching against her lips entices her. She needs to have him into this mouth. And what Laurel needs, she takes, right away.
Her warm lips wrap around Barry's cock and take it into her mouth. Barry's groan just brings a bubbling excitement through Laurel's body.
The throat control she boasts of thanks to her meta-abilities allows Laurel to swallow Barry's cock in one creative bound. She pops her warm lips around Barry and releases him with a very hungry hum. Her throat just eases closer and closer down onto Barry, holding the grip around him.
Barry puts a hand on the back of her head and guides his cock just a little bit further into her mouth. Laurel slurps on his manhood and makes him just rise up deeper into her throat. Barry drives his fingers onto the back of her head.
"Damn. Laurel."
It feels so good to feel her warm throat squeezing him. Laurel grabs Barry's balls and squeezes them hard. He pumps up into her mouth and goes a little bit deeper into her throat. Barry tilts back and keeps hammering away at her throat. The searing warmth of her mouth just calls for him.
Barry puts a hand on the back of her head and strokes her soft hair.
"I can touch your hair forever. It's so nice."
Laurel smiles at the compliment and keeps pleasuring Barry with her talented mount and throat. She gives him a mind-blowing deep throat blowjob and this powerful man being at the mercy of this mouth causes a heat to rise through Laurel. It's the kind of power which makes her just thrilled to be here and be with Barry.
The vibrations and the hum coming from the back of Laurel's throat send very pleasurable rushes through Barry's body. He holds the back of Laurel's head and keeps going to town on her slick throat. She looks up at him with a hungry expression in her eyes as if she wishes to tell Barry to just bring it.
Barry brings it, in an endless loop of long and powerful thrusting. Laurel grabs onto his balls and squeezes them. The roaring rush about ready to hit through Barry is one of the most intense ever. He cannot help and hold on for the end of the ride. Laurel takes him and makes his cock feel so good. She blows him with hunger darting through her eyes.
"I'm getting close. You want me to…."
The deep and hungry slurp shows Barry exactly what Laurel wants. He holds the back of her head and rides out the rest of his orgasm until it hits.
Barry blows his load into the back of Laurel's throat. She hangs on and makes sure to drink every single last drop. This divine goddess craves only one thing and she takes him all the way to the last drop. Her hair brushes against his legs when she goes all the way down, her cheeks swelling and throat expanding from taking him.
"That's hot!"
The feeling of release strikes Barry. The energy the meta-human on her knees gives him makes this so hot and so very good.
Laurel pulls away at Barry and leaves his cock dripping with her salvia. The second she stands up licking her lips, Barry grabs her and throws her down on the bed.
"Oh!"
That squeal comes from her with Barry climbing behind her and feeling up Laurel's strong, athletic body. He pulls off her tank top and unleashes a barrage of kisses all over her. Laurel squirms and just shows how much she wants. Barry pulls back and keeps touching her all over. He makes Laurel's pleasure an endless and sensational one.
She loves how much he touches her and how fast. Her panties come down and Laurel spreads her legs wide. Barry covers her back with kisses and touches. Going completely and quickly, until he reaches between her legs.
Laurel never has her pussy eaten quite like this until a tongue vibrates in her at super speed. His hands work their magic on the back of her legs. Barry buries his tongue in.
In the meantime, Laurel grabs the nearest pillow and bites down on it to avoid the blistering cry coming out. Barry sure knows how to work her over. His tongue reaches all of the spots to the point where Laurel thinks she may be close to blacking out from the increased pleasure.
Barry fails to get enough of her divine honey. He can sense Laurel's arousal building up. Barry throbs once again, the need to be inside of her. He wants to look at Laurel's beautiful face when he does so though.
He just cannot pull away from Laurel's tasty center. He devours her womanhood and he can feel Laurel trying hard not to let out a scream which will shatter every window in the apartment. Barry gets a jolt of excitement from almost making the Black Canary lose it completely.
Pulling away allows Laurel a reprieve. He flips her over and climbs on top of her hips. His manhood comes closer to sliding into her.
"If you're going to do it, then fuck me good."
Barry gives her a smile and feels up her chest. His hands vibrate slowly over her breasts and cause Laurel's breathing to go intense.
"Do you like how I do that?"
"YES!"
Laurel's body is so backed up, that the slightest touch from Barry just sets her off. And this is not the slightest touch at all, this is a much more intimate touch. One which Barry sends delicious tremors over Laurel's body and makes her start breathing in pleasure. Her legs spread apart and get close to Barry sinking down into her.
She cannot wait anymore. Her legs wrap around Barry's back and tries to pull him in.
"Impatient."
"No, I'm just a girl who knows what she wants and what she wants is you."
The two meet together with Barry sliding himself deep into her wet pussy. Barry rotates into her and works himself into her body. Her hips come up and Barry puts his hands on her legs. He feels Laurel's soft legs, really good.
An idle thought of how nice they would look in fishnets crosses Barry's mind. He puts that thought to the back of his mind and keeps slamming himself deeper and faster inside of Laurel. She closes her ranks onto him and moans out loud, the deeper Barry plunges into her.
"Damn it, Barry!"
Thankfully that means a good thing, other than the normal bad thing when someone said that sentence. Laurel matches his motions. The shared origin of both of their sets of powers makes this a more exciting sexual experience. Barry plants his cock further and faster into Laurel, stretching her womanhood out completely on the edge of his cock.
Laurel feels so alive with Barry touching her while hammering away at her. She only can clamp down on him and make sure he eases into her body. The two of them meet together with Barry sliding his hands all over her body.
He props her legs up for leverage and hammers away. Laurel bites down on her lip so hard it nearly draws blood.
"I swear to...if you make me bring this room down."
Barry just smiles and starts toying with Laurel's chest. It is apparent that he hits such a sensual spot that he cannot help and feel the pleasure building into her. Laurel closes down onto him and stretches her warm pussy around his throbbing hard cock. It's so close, she can feel him just easing further and faster down into her.
"B-Barry! Jesus Christ!"
Laurel lets out her moaning. She is careful not scream too badly. Shattering Barry's ear drums and bringing her apartment down on their heads is not a good mood.
In a flash, Barry stuffs Laurel's panties in her mouth. She tastes the arousal which built up through the makeout session and the blowjob. This only makes Laurel tingle even more.
Feeling Barry inside of her is even more. There's no more words, only pleasure right now. There's something the two of them begin to share which Laurel only can scarcely describe. She clings onto Barry, unwilling and unable to let him go, the faster he hammers into her.
Laurel enjoys the feeling building between both of them. Barry's inside her, deeper, faster, and with more fluid pumps. His balls slap down onto her and send a jolt through Laurel's body.
Barry holds onto Laurel and enjoys riding her into the bed. The look of love and adoration in this woman's eyes, how can one not enjoy being a part of it? Barry slides himself deeper and deeper into her.
"I want to make you feel good."
The expression on Laurel's face indicates she knows and that he's very much succeeding in his goals. A tightening around his tool brings Barry a bit further down her tight pussy. He rides her going deeper and faster into the bed. His body becomes a never ending blur.
Indulging in each other is something that Laurel wishes she had thought to do before now. Still, it's more than owing Barry. She feels whole again with someone she can share her life in. And if she has to share him with others, there's just more love to spread apart.
The fabric in her panties offers a warning for Laurel not to lose it too much. Barry holds her down on the bed and fucks down hard on her. He cannot help and go for a very long ride, stretching her out every last drive of the way.
"Ready?"
She's always ready. Ready for him to finish with her. They get ever so closer to that breaking point. Laurel's body coats with a heavy amount of sweat.
The two work against each other. Laurel's sweet silken caresses brings Barry ever so closer. He feels her warmth and the energy building between them is just amazing. Barry plants himself down onto her and sends her spiraling up, hips first into his deep and penetrating manhood.
Laurel clamps onto his agonizingly hard rod and takes him into her. The stretch of his cock inside of her wet pussy makes Laurel almost lose it from there.
Barry pushes and that's the final push needed to send her over the edge into a fit of bliss. He rides her all the way, almost putting both of them through the bed.
Sheets come up, sparking with static with the energy these two make love with each other.
"You deserve this."
Barry kisses Laurel's neck while edging to the final few minutes. He holds on for the last intense round, making sure to get as much time out of her as humanly possible.
Then it hits, Barry's manhood inside of her. He almost pulls out, but Laurel clamps down onto him and squeezes is waste.
"Are you sure?"
Her panties slide out just enough.
"Safe."
Barry nods at this one breathy word and finishes up with Laurel. The tightening in his loins happen seconds before the big explosion inside of Laurel.
Laurel pulls herself back and explodes into pleasure. Barry's manhood sliding into her makes her nearly scream. She appreciates the added effort of Barry clapping a hand over her mouth in warning. She nibbles on his fingers in a playful manner.
The two shudder to a stop with their long overdue and mutual release coming out. They shudder to a stop.
The second later, Barry wraps his arms around Laurel and she cuddles against him.
"Wonderful."
"You deserve it."
Laurel just smiles. Cuddling with Barry in the post-cotial bliss is even more amazing than the sex. And sex with a speedster is pretty fucking amazing.
Also good to not have someone fall asleep on her after the act and hear snoring as loud as a chainsaw. Not that Laurel's naming any names or shaming anyone's snoring habits.
Barry strokes her hair as Laurel recovers from the first time of hopefully making they will share.