𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 ― b. allen ¹ ✓

TWENTY-ONE

Juliet stared up at him, her heart beating against her chest, before she reached down and took his hand in hers, squeezing it gently. "I'll be okay."

They returned to the CCPD. All of the Christmas decorations should've brightened Juliet's spirits, but she kept imagining the man in the yellow suit's arm around her waist, and it dimmed. Dr. McGee came into the precinct to talk about the tachyon prototype. Joe had given her a warrant for them to get the prototype, but Dr. McGee clearly was not having any of it.

"If Judge Hankerson was gonna sign this, he would have done so already," Dr. McGee protested.

Joe took the warrant back. "Look, I'm sure you don't want this investigation to get any more public than it's already been, do you, Doctor?"

"This has Harrison Wells written all over it in big, black letters. I am not giving you my tachyon prototype."

"It was quite the tour of your facility, Doctor," Barry cut in. "You were fine to let us dumb cops walk around, but Juliet and I majored in physics and chemistry, and we saw a whole lot of stuff that Science Showcase Magazine would love to hear about. So should I call their editors directly or just leave a few posts on their website?"

Juliet blinked and looked up at Barry in shock. Well, damn.

Dr. McGee stared at Barry. "You'll have the tachyon device within the hour. I see why Harrison holds you in such esteem, Mr. Allen. You're very much alike."

Joe smiled at Barry as Dr. McGee walked away. "Nicely done."

However, Barry didn't say anything. He kept a blank expression on his face and went upstairs to the lab. Juliet shared a look with Joe before sighing, ultimately following Barry up the stairs. She frowned upon noticing how Barry collapsed into his chair at his desk and just stared ahead.

"You don't have to keep looking at me like that, Juliet," Barry told her.

Juliet raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Like I'm going to snap any second."

"But you are about to snap any second." Juliet slowly approached his desk and sat on top of it, making him look up at her. "And it's okay to be like that."

Barry placed his face in his hands. "I don't understand why now. He's been gone for years, and suddenly, he just comes back out of nowhere? What the hell is up with that?"

"I don't have an answer," Juliet replied. "None of us do. But we know what he is, and we have something to stop him. He's not going to hurt anyone else anymore. Not Iris, not Noelle . . ." her voice lowered. "Not me."

"J, if he gets you, Iris, or Noelle, I — I think I'll go insane. When he took you two times, I just felt so . . . helpless. I wasn't able to stop him then, and I wasn't able to stop him last night. How am I able to stop him now."

"But that's the thing about us." Juliet tapped his shoulder, making Barry look up at her. She offered him a gentle smile. "Not only are we the Flash and Scarlet, but we're Barry and Juliet. We've always been a force to be reckoned with, but now that we have superpowers, that guy's not gonna know what hit him."

Barry stared at her. "Promise?"

Juliet nodded. "Promise."