Within Seconds // Barry Allen

Out/In the Circle

Parker thought Joe's pep talk would ease Barry out of his sadness. It did the opposite, but luckily, for only a minute.

"I can't lose my dad," Barry wept, actual tears sliding down his cheeks. His head fell onto his arms, shoulders shaking.

Parker pouted, her heart aching. She placed her hand on his knee. "Come on, Barry," she whispered.

Barry raised his head and she wiped his tears with her thumbs. She placed a kiss on his tinted cheeks, before sliding off the platform and helping Barry to his feet. Parker clapped her hands together.

"Well, glad the sadness is over for now. Barry, keep your emotions in check around Wells, and this will go by a lot safer. Be patient. And about this entire conversation, I muted the microphone. So if anyone wanted to hear, they'd have to be standing outside. You're welcome."

>>>>>

Almost the moment the three stepped back inside the Cortex, Joe's cell phone went off. He answered, paused, and flipped it to speaker phone, drawing everyone's attention.

James Jesse was speaking, not directly to Iris, but close enough for her phone to pick it up. His monologue included something about a poison being added to the wine.

Parker only needed to hear that to switch into action. She leaned around Cisco, fingers flying across his keyboard to ping Iris' phone. Cisco scooted his chair past her to flip on another computer.

"Trimethelmercury thirty-two is a relatively fast acting poison," Caitlin informed.

"Is there a cure?" Barry asked.

Dr.Wells was already driving his chair backwards to get around the desks. "Yes, and we can start synthesizing the antidote now."

"Parker, where is she?"

Parker slammed her finger onto the Enter button. The 3D model of Central City highlighted a specific area, zoomed in, and gave the address.

"City Hall."

"The mayor's having a fundraiser there tonight."

Instead of asking why Iris, of all people, was invited, Parker grabbed Barry's face and pressed her lips to his. It was one of the first times they kissed in front of their friends. Both felt awkward kissing in front of people they knew, but Parker strongly felt a form of affection was needed to jump-start Barry's determination.

"Be safe. Don't underestimate him."

"I love you," Then, Barry was gone and so was the suit.

"I will never get tired of hearing that."

"Cisco, I think I'm the one who's supposed to say that," Parker corrected with a giggle.

She exited out of the search for Iris' phone and opened the map of Central City, watching Barry's red dot move across town and into City Hall.

"Where's Henry Allen?"

The suit's monitor beeped a warning on its respective computer. Some type of device was locked onto Barry's wrist. Parker's eyes moved left to right, quickly reading the report the suit was sending back as it scanned the device.

"Are you familiar with the movie 'Speed?'" The Trickster asked.

Parker narrowed her eyes at the screen, waiting for the crazy old man to explain the connection.

"Well, see, you're the bus, and that's the bomb- kinetic bomb, actually, and if you go below six hundred miles per hour, it'll explode! Same thing happens if you try to remove it. Ooh, it's active. Run, run, run, run, run!"