Within Seconds: Sylas & Allen

The Problem With Barry

When the motion stopped, she found herself crouching on the balcony in Jitters. Through the railing she peaked, and she found Cisco and Kendra standing behind Barry. On the floor was a man dressed in a trench coat.

"You're done here, pal," Barry said.

"So is he!" claimed the man as he got to his feet. Faster than anyone expected, the man drew a knife from his coat and whipped it at Cisco.

In a single blink, Barry was in front of Cisco, holding a knife inches from his chest. "Oh!" Cisco wheezed. "Thank God, Barry."

Parker popped to her feet. "Fuck you!"

"I am so sorry," Cisco apologized. "I'm an idiot."

"I'll be back for you," Barry said to Cisco and Kendra. He picked up Parker. With another few seconds, she was in the Cortex.

"Parker," Caitlin said, surprised. "Where'd you come from?"

In response, Parker took a seat in her computer chair. Her head fell to the desk.

"All right," mumbled Caitlin. "Good talk."

"Wow!" squealed Kendra, upon her and Cisco's entrance. "I cannot believe that you know the Flash. That you work with the Flash."

"Let's keep that on the DL," pleased Cisco.

"Yeah, Parker gets really mad about.." Barry stopped. "Park? Are you okay?"

Parker raised her head. She spoke slowly, out of breath at the slightest.
"Kendra, I definitely don't want to scare you, but I-- unlike the others on this team-- care deeply about keeping Barry's identity a secret. If you fail to do so--"

"She'll probably beat you up in a dark alleyway one day when you least expect it," finished Cisco. Parker nodded.

"I promise you I won't say a word to anyone," Kendra promised.

"I'll make sure of it," breathed Parker. She dropped her head to the desk again, focusing on her inhales.

"Is she always like this?" Kendra asked.

"That's just Momma Bear Parker," Caitlin explained.

"This knife is the same one as the one used to murder those people on the docks. The residue is exactly the same," Barry said.

"So it is the same guy," said Joe.

"Definitely," Barry agreed. "But this blades is old. Centuries old."

"Do you have any idea of why this guy might be after you?" Joe wondered.

"I've never seen him before in my life," said Kendra.

"He was certainly acting like he knew you. He kept calling her Priestess Chay-Ara," Cisco said.

"That's Coptic," said Wells quietly.

"You mean Egyptian?" Caitlin corrected.

"I grew up in Wisconsin, and I've never left the States.." Kendra said.

"This guy, he's clearly incredibly dangerous, so I need you to let us at least try to protect you," Barry pleaded.

"Don't worry," said Parker softly. "Your protection detail includes the Flash, a cop, and Indiana Jones."

Barry lovingly placed his hand over her mouth.

"I can put a real detail on her," Joe offered.

"You didn't see this guy, Joe," denied Cisco. "No offense, but I don't think cops are going to be able to protect her."

"But we do have a few friends who may be willing to lend a hand," Barry said mysteriously.

"Oh, no," Parker said. She shook her head wildly. "Barry, he hated us the last time we showed up uninvited."

"This time is different," Barry argued.

"What are you talking about?" Kendra asked.

"We need to leave Central City," Barry said.

Cisco understood. ""Barry, Parker, can we just have a word for a second?" In the hallway, Cisco whispered, "Do you really think we need Team Arrow's help?"

"I do, yes," Barry said.

"Man, you've fought meta-human's with abilities a lot worse than knife throwing," Cisco disagreed.

"I don't think this guy is a meta. There's something different about him. Something.. Uh.. Mystical," said Barry.

"Mystical?" Parker repeated. Cisco raised his eyebrow.

"We stop meta-human's because we're scientists. We can figure out what their weaknesses are, but we don't have any experience when it comes to guys like this. With magic. They do," Barry explained.

Cisco narrowed his eyes. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Zoom, would it?"

"No," Barry said. "I'm just trying to keep Kendra safe."

Cisco was sold with his case. "Right. Okay. I'm down. But how do you know Team Arrow have time to help us out?"

Barry laughed. "How busy can they be?"