Beautifully Damned

Barthomew "Barry" Allen || Twenty-Eight || Crime Sciene Investigator for the CCPD || aka the Flash ||

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[struckbylightningflash]

The frown on Barry’s face indicated that he hadn’t heard of the meta she described either. Or maybe he was just good at acting. For some reason Annie doubted the latter.

She gave him a little smile in a show that she appreciated his effort to shoo her doubt. Of course, Annie didn’t need it. She knew how crazy Central City was in this time. It was only going to get worse.

“I heard it was the speed of light,” Annie commented out of interest.  To know that the Flash hadn’t reached his top speed yet, could play an intriguing role in the events she knew were to come in the future. “Or is that like, media exaggeration or something?”

“Sorry. I knew what I was getting into moving to Central City. I just didn’t think I’d witness a meta attack on my third day here. It’s kind of exciting, actually.”

‘Have I reached the speed of light yet?’

Barry pondered the thought for a moment before shaking off his own curiosity. “I don’t really follow the Flash like that. It’s possible,” he shrugged with a feigned indifference. Her excitement fired off a small bit of worry in him. This had to be shock, right? No one ever really enjoyed this kind of chaos; at least not good people. 

“It’s one way to be introduced to a city...” he trailed off. “I think that’s all I need from you, ma’am, unless you have anything else you can remember.” 

[struckbylightningflash]

“It’s just– when I was in foster care, the people who took care of me weren’t always the best.” She shook her head, her teeth grazing the inside of her lip as her eyes traced the floor. “Nevermind. It was stupid of me to bring it up. Just forget I asked.” Hell, maybe he’d have pity on her and forget her face. At this point, she could only hope for the best.

Barry felt a pang in his chest. He may not know, firsthand, the negative side of the foster system but he did understand the confusion that came with displacement. He lost his mother that night in a flurry of lightening; and not soon after he also his father to the deception of Eobard Thawne. If it weren’t for Joe, he could have been where she was. He lowered himself down to level with her. 

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m sorry that you had to deal with that but look at where you are now. You’re opinionated but talented. Your past doesn’t have to defend you, Allie.” 

[struckbylightningflash]

“Ollie is great. But…. if I name it Queen everyone will think it is his” Thea adored her big brother, but she was tired of always being in his shadow. This was something she was doing for herself. “But I won’t forget him. He and Roy saved my life….” She could never forget them.

"I get that. Sometimes it’s hard to outlive ones surname. You’re going to do great things, Thea. I know Roy and Oliver are so proud of you.”

[struckbylightningflash]

Barry hated that he had to resource to tracking Caitlin’s last location. All he wanted to do was support her without crowding her. What he didn’t expect was that she was spending so much extra time in Star City. What was Frost doing? He stared down at the address he scribbled across his palm. The clinic was nicely kept and fairly new. “Hello?” He called out before fully entering the place. It was saturated in light. This wasn’t Frost’s usual digs.

@pagingdoctortommy​

[struckbylightningflash]

Iris was shocked that Barry was so receptive all of a sudden to going back to counseling. It had helped a lot in the beginning and hopefully it would work more now seeing he was the one that brought it up. “Well I love this change in attitude about it. I’m sure it’ll help even more,” she chuckled as she leaned in and kissed him. When it came to the baby topic, Iris was shocked again that he was seemingly okay with it. Here she thought he would freak out again like last time she brought it up. Granted that was more a joke, but she also wasn’t wrong. “Mmmm, I’m in trouble if that’s the case.” Iris shivered a little when his hands went down her back. She smirked a little before shaking her head a little. “Oh yeah so much fun,” she laughed nuzzling his cheek. “You just want the sex, I see, I see you Bartholomew.” Iris made a face at him before laughing. “No we won’t be, hell we will never be ready. But dad and Cecile are making it work,” she shrugged, “if you aren’t opposed then I’m not either.” Iris smiled a little before letting out a giggle. “Did we just agree to what I think we just agreed to?” 

"I don’t like when we’re off kilter, Iris. You are my home. I am not my best when we’re not at our best. Which I realize is partly my fault. I run into things without thinking and sometimes that haste hurts you. I don’t want to hurt you. I want to make you happy and feel safe. I am sorry I haven’t been the best partner.” Barry made taken some time to reflect on his actions as of late. Iris was the agent that kept him balanced. It wasn’t fair if he didn’t provide that same kind of effect. “I wouldn’t say that the sex part isn’t a plus but I want everything with you, Iris. I love Nora and I am not going to accept not being in her life. We deserve to have it all. I won’t accept anything less,” he lifted her up into his arms. “I believe we are in agreement on the baby making front. Shall we begin,” he wiggled his brows suggestively. 

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Oliver’s smile morphed into warming grin. Barry’s growth encouraged Oliver to accept some of his own opportunities to do the same. In all of his goodness, Barry continued to evolve with the growing pains of his legacy. He didn’t stop when the obstacles came; nor did he become bitter. Barry was inherently good. One to be modeled after. “It’s a trip. William may be a kid but he acts like a grown man. At least, that’s how he thinks he’s acting.” The ache rumbling within him. He missed his son dearly but this was for the best. “Teams grow, Barry; much like the people who are a part of them. You just have to be open to growing with them or you’ll grow apart. Have you tried to see it through her eyes? Try to understand when it’s coming from. I was never good at that but I now see the value in listening before just trying to make it better.” 

The levity of their conversation lifted some of the tension that barreled down on his chest. It was nice to talk about somewhat normal things. “How are things going between you two, Oliver? Felicity mentioned to me that he’s currently in Central City. I may have checked in on him once or twice. His Grandparents really love woodland ceramics..” he trailed off. He sighed at the sage wisdom that he had been bestowed. “I know she’s not the biggest fan of the teams because of trust. I don’t know how to get her to trust me.” 

[ccfdawngranger]

Something is coming || Open Starter

[struckbylightningflash]

“Stewart. John Stewart, and you look confused when I said Hal Jordan, so that’s good. The Green Lantern Corp is basically an intergalactic space army meant to keep the peace. All I see is that they cause bigger problems for Earth then we already have,” she muttered. She had never been a fan of the Laterns, then brought too many world-ending events but never stuck around to clean up the mess they made. “

“The kind of danger that destroys entire cities and brings back the dead,” Dawn said, making sure Barry understood she was not joking.

Intergalactic space army?

Barry felt the world beginning to peel away from his heels and his head spun. It was apparent that really wasn’t from this earth. The sad part was what the one she was from seemed to be falling apart with an unfathomable speed.  “Well I’m not going to let that happen. I need to know everything that you do and we need to brief my team.”

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Seeing that he was taking her seriously, Annie began rattling off the details of what she remembered. “Male, I assume around late forties, American, around about five-ten, five-eleven. He was wearing a black hood with a white fin and had a really shway pointed beard. Like super maintained.”

In all her studies of the past, Annie had never come across such a meta. Dr. Light had the same powers but all indication pointed to her being a woman. Had she accidentally stumbled on a displaced meta from another Earth? That could be problematic.

“I know… I know. It’s sounds crazy.”

Barry curbed the confused curl of his brows at her description. The only light based metas that he had come into contact with was Dr. Light. Not even in DeVeo’s patch of metas, there was no one with that skill set. Had the breeches between the worlds split wide open? His heart quickened at the grim consequence if it had. 

“No, no” he shooed away her doubt. “It’s not. This is Central City. We’ve got a guy who can run faster than the speed of sound. This is very normal actually.” 

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Lisa laughed a little at his pout, not in malice but because she found it kind of innocent and naive. “Not everyone wants to change, nor do they have a reason as to why they should.” A soft smile followed that statement. “But hey, their loss. You’re not bad people to be around.” It was as close as she was going to publicly admit she liked the team.

As the questions about Frost and Caitlin continued, Lisa sighed softly and looked away for a moment as she collected her thoughts on how to answer Barry. “I can only make a guess why Frost hasn’t come to you.” Lisa looked back to Barry, her reply completely honest. “I think it’s her way of protecting you. The less you know, the less chance you have of getting hurt from being dragged into it.”

"I guess not but I wish that they didn’t feel like they had to go dark, you know? I believe everyone has good in them.” Barry shrugged. Lisa’s compliment warmed his cheeks. Sometimes he wondered if he was all that great to be around. Constant sunshine and positivity was a lot; it even posed too great for his own sanity because the darkness loomed inside of him. Barry just didn’t want to submit to that bleak reality.

“I don’t need her to protect me and I don’t want that. We are strongest when we’re working together. A house divided cannot stand.” 

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girlofxsteel‌:

“This isn’t as bad ass everyone says!” Kara blustered with a feigned confidence. Cisco promised that compound cocktail would help give her a rounded buzz. Due to her composition of her body and the luscious radiation of this Earth’s yellow sun, Kara never really had one. She didn’t count that one time with Mon el because she felt as though she may have also been drunk off his aura; love made people do and say dumb things. 

“Cheers to tomorrow..um today..yesterday? Some day!”

"Kar, can I see that?” Barry motioned towards her glass with a wary smile. If he were right about his hunch, this was the potent stuff. 

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kryptonsxlastxson‌:

Clark giggled at the person sitting across from him. Wow, whatever Lois brought home from her space bar crawl back on their Earth was extremely potent! He wasn’t usually one to drink, but given the circumstances, celebrations were in order. He just found out he was a father, and if that wasn’t something to celebrate, he wasn’t sure what was. As he laughed, his nose scrunched up and his eyes closed as the quiet giggles continued to bubble forth.

“Does it always feel like this? Floaty and fuzzy?”

"I mean I, sometimes, feel fuzzy when I vibrate through concrete. I feel like a jackhammer. Not now, I’m a little limp.” Barry held out his with a forced gaze as it would kickstart his speed. The point was moot. Alcohol or heavy doses of whatever that was depressed his connection to the speed force. 

“Plus you’re frackin’ s u p e r m a n . You invented floaty.”

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“Yeah…” Thea murmured with a smile. “It’s why the business is called Harper Incorporated. I don’t want it to have any ties to the Queen or Merlyn name”

“I totally get wanting to stand out on your own feet but I wouldn’t toss away your roots, you know? I mean we both know a pretty nifty, Queen. He’s not someone worth forgetting.”

[unicornships]

Poor Ben Tennyson  Barry Allen :(  dude can’t catch a break

[struckbylightningflash]

I’m sorry I haven’t been on. Life has been less than ideal but I am here if people want to plot. I am taking a couple days off from work.

[ccfdawngranger]

Something is coming || Open Starter

[struckbylightningflash]

“The dead rose, and evil worse the face of people we loved,” Dawn said, her voice cracking as she thought about watching Hank murder her sister and spiral that sent her down. Thinking how Jason had given his life for hers. How those images would never leave her. “I haven’t seen John or Hal, so I’m guessing the Laterns haven’t gotten here yet. Consider your Earth lucky, they bring nothing but danger that you’re never ready for.”

"John Diggle? Hal?” Barry only ever heard of one Hal and that was Hal Jordan. He hadn’t been seen in years. He was one of the pilots that used to work out of the Ferris Airstrip; the new home to STAR Lab’s off site lair/ hanger. “Danger? What kind of danger?” He felt like a broken record that fired question after question. Barry just wanted to understand.

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rory hesitated, toying with the hems of her sleeve painstakingly as she frowned. she lowered herself on the couch’s armrest, “these past few months i’ve been experiencing these blackouts and night terrors. caitlin told me they might have been because of my powers, that i was using them too much and they were causing dementia-like symptoms, but after the city-wide blackout they disappeared. and i suspected they could have been my ex.” rory knew she didn’t have to elaborate, barry already knew who her ex was, how much he’d hurt her, and how she’d almost died, and how the dark matter had infiltrated her system that night in the emergency room as they shocked her heart back to life. “i was right…because he showed up in my apartment, he attacked me and i killed him.” rory said the words so swiftly without hesitation, without second-thought. her eyes sternly looked into barry’s, standing her ground, “and i don’t regret it. i don’t feel guilty that i did it. and i don’t know if i’m the kind of person you want on your team anymore.”

Barry moved closer and placed the pity pizza down on the coffee table before her. It was evident that her shoulders were heavy from the trauma and possible side effects of the life they lived. He expected her to feel distant and even distraught; what he didn’t expect was that she would admit to killing someone. “Was it the only option, Rory? Was he going to kill you? Was there no other way for you to survive that evening without fatally harming him.” Her lack of remorse alarmed him but the nature of her relationship with that man was very much an abusive and emotionally damning ordeal. He needed to know that she felt there was no other way because maybe he could look past it. 

Everyone made mistakes. Even when they thought those mistakes weren’t mistakes at all.