Episode 31 - Flash Fanfiction - Nightfall

Chapter 6

"Central City is in a world of darkness, just as you have asked of me." The woman in the black cloak, said as she spoke to her leader, known as the Overmaster.

"Good girl. It will not be long, now. Have you any further news to share?"

"I do. It seems that we may have missed a few humans possessing exceptional gifts. A group of misfits consisting of a speedster, a telepath and a breacher. I don't know how we missed them before. They opposed me, though I managed to absorbed the kinetic energy from their speedster. He was wounded."

"Well, it will only be a matter of time before he regenerates his powers, and they line against you. However, they could also prove useful to our cause. I arranged for your fellow comrades to be released from prison, take them and some others to meet with the misfits. Try to see if you can recruit them to our cause." The Overmaster replied.

"And if they oppose us?" she asked.

"Kill them. Do not let them stand in our way!"

"It will be done, sir!" she replied, and took her leave.

Back at STAR Labs, while Harry and Cisco ran through multiple theories to lure out the woman that could absorb light and kinetic energy, the rest of the group went in search for torches, candles and whatever else they could find, in preparation for the generators to stop working.

"I've managed to locate Ralph. He wasn't easy to find since he went underground." Harry told Cisco, "he should be here soon."

"Good, the more the merrier." Cisco said glumly. "I'm beginning to lose track of time. I keep thinking it's nighttime... Nightfall! That's the perfect name for that woman... Everywhere she goes... Nightfalls."

"I don't think giving her a name is as important as trying to stop her right now, Ramon."

"Yeah... but, it's all I can think about right now. My brains in the "we're all going to die" mode!" Cisco replied, staring at his computer screen aimlessly.

"Shouldn't you be the one cracking jokes right now? Not being the pessimist?" Harry snapped at him.

Cisco jumped to his feet, "So, what? Now you're pissed at me because I'm not cracking jokes? I can never understand you! Hell, I don't even think that Astrid understands you, and she's a mind reading psychologist! Why did you even stay, if all you want to do is be angry at all of us?"

"Ramon, I don't need to justify myself to you!" Dr Wells snapped back.

"I get it! The almighty Dr Harry Wells is scared. Don't be afraid to admit! I'll admit it... Frankly I'm one battle away from needing a fresh change of pants. We could lose everyone around us, and damn Astrid and Barry know that! Yet, they're still fighting to throw their lives away!"

"Well, maybe you should have gotten her out of here. We could trick them all and breach them as far away as possible. Barry doesn't have his speed so we could get away with it!" Harry suggested it.

"You don't think I haven't thought of that? But I promised her, and I'm not going to break that promise. We're going to fight this thing until the very end. So why are you still here? Why did you stay?"

"I already said that I'm not going to explain myself to you, Ramon." Harry replied as he continued to pace the floor with his tablet in his hand.

"Because we're the family you never had, right?" Cisco pestered.

"For your information, Yes!" Harry snapped, "does that make you happy? The whole lot of you have gotten under my skin. Did you know that I lost my position as a World Walker? Yeah, I did, but I stayed... I kept up my charade to protect the lot of you. Because, I'm just too stupid to leave!"

"Too stupid... or too human?" Cisco asked him. Harry glared and shook his head, he wasn't going to answer.

Suddenly, the lights and technology went out, all except for the appliances run by battery.

Astrid had gone down stairs, ensuring that each floor had been evacuated. She wore a backpack and in her hand she carried a torch. Oliver had offered to accompany her, to her annoyance. The lights had gone out all around them.

Astrid raided a few of the storage cupboards and found supplies of matches, batteries, torches and candles. She even collected first aid kits, in case Caitlin needed them later.

"Are you going to speak to me, Star?" Oliver asked her. "You and Cisco are back together, I'm not here to destroy that."

"Good, but we have nothing to talk about, here carry these for me, will you?" She said, handing him a couple of large torches that wouldn't fit into her bag. He took them and fit them into his own backpack

"Fine, be that way." He replied, walking away from her.

"Why did you come, Ollie? You're the mayor of Star city, I'm certain that this is risking your position." Astrid said.

"Because when the news begun reporting that there was a mysterious darkness spread throughout Central City, I thought... Well, I'm not letting my friends deal with that, alone." Oliver said calmly.

"Friends? You and I haven't spoken in months."

"Yeah, because you can hold a grudge. But I still care about you. Just as I care about Barry... and yes, even Cisco." Oliver replied.

"Thanks." Astrid replied, she gave him a quick hug and then let go of him, "Because right now, I'm scared. I don't know how we're going to do this. We need as many friends as we can get. I feel that they are just going to lure us out. We don't know what we're up against and they will have the upper hand over us."

"But the lot of you will be prepared. Sure, we're all in the dark right now... quite literally, and the odds are stacked against us, but that's never stopped us before... Remember those aliens back in Smallville? We defied the odds and you took the last kill. It's no different. Now, you're going to go back up those stairs and rally the troops. Because, while Barry might be the Flash, you're still the mind behind the operation."

"Barry's powers are a little out of order, right now. And I'm not exactly a scientist." Astrid replied.

"Not where I was going, Star. Just get back up there and lead."

"Alright. I hear ya. Let's go join the others." They filled their backpacks with enough supplies and went back up to the 97th floor.

When they reached the cortex, they saw that their crusade had been joined by two extra people. Ralph Dibny, who Cisco was hell bent on calling Elongated man, as well as Batman.