Escape Velocity // The Flash

Chapter Fourteen: Centrifugal Force

"Are all your law enforcers that nonchalant?" She asked curiously.

"Not usually... maybe he just had a bad day."

"I suppose that could be the case."

"Trust me, they've got a difficult job, especially in this city. They've earned the right to be a little grumpy." Barry stretched his arms above his head in preparation, then extended them out towards Mineko. "Ready to go?"

She still despised the feeling of being carried. That much hadn't changed, but she assumed that travelling at a regular speed with her was just as irritating for him. She had started to perfect the art of compromise when it came to him. They had started to make a half decent team.

The warehouse, when they arrived a mere few seconds later, was just as eerie as Barry had feared. It was a large structure, engulfed primarily in darkness. It looked as if it would fall in on itself at any given time. Chalky paint fell in fragments off the door leading inside, leaving it to be nothing more than a bare tarp.

At Barry's apparent unwillingness to go inside first, Mineko manoeuvred out of his grasp and back onto her feet. When her palm pressed firmly against the cold frame it squeaked on its amber hinges. The door loosely swung open, and now all they could see was a large empty room.

Vines were the only things that filled the dark void. Ivy, to be specific. It gnarled its way through broken windows, tangling its leathery shape throughout the wistful abode.

The undefinable source of darkness draped over the walls like tapestries as they took a few wary steps over the rotting wooden floors. Each creak set their hearts racing, but no one ever appeared to investigate the sound.

"This place is deserted." Mineko stated after another thorough glance around the room. "It doesn't look like anyone's been here in years."

"There has to be something we missed like a... trap door or something?" The Flash murmured, rubbing his chin with his index finger as if in deep thought. "Maybe one of those bookcases that lead to a secret room?"

"Why would there be-" Mineko paused, then sighed in realisation. "This isn't a movie, Barry."

"It could be!" The Flash replied hyperactively. "What if they're filming us right now for some reality T.V show about The Flash and his samurai apprentice?"

"I am not your apprentice." Mineko grumbled. "And if you start searching for camera's I'll destroy your remaining dolls."

"They're not dolls, dude... that's so uncool. They're action figures."

"Which is a fancy way of saying that it's an expensive doll."

The Flash gasped, placing his hand over his chest to feign insult. "That hurt."

Apparently Barry wouldn't have any need to start searching the area, because not long after their conversation had ended someone appeared in front of them with a loud crack that sounded oddly like thunder.

Upon first glance, the man looked like a gladiator. He wore a golden helmet of solid brass, and was adorned with large bracelets of the same colour that ran up the length of his bulging muscles. He was shirtless, which gave the illusion of misguided confidence, but with the abdomen of a body builder no one could blame him. It was the pants that gave him away, they had none of the delicate intricacies of a gladiator's armor and all the messy stitching of a pair of modern tights.