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𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
all burnt out
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WHEN JULIET TELEPORTED inside the precinct, she was met with a whole chaotic sight. It was dark — evidently, Farooq feeding on S.T.A.R. Labs' electricity had taken out the electricity of all of Central City. The guy with the strange glasses who had complimented Barry's watch earlier was circling around ten hostages with a gun, all of them with handcuffs on. Among them was Joe and Iris, who was crying hysterically because Eddie had been shot.
Juliet stepped out of the shadows. The sound of her shoe made everyone look over at her. Juliet could hear Iris let out a sigh of relief, and Juliet made sure to blur her voice and vibrate her vocal cords fast so no one would recognize her.
The man looked over at her. "How did you get in?"
"Magic," Juliet replied simply. "But you're crazy, and you're done. It's over."
"I don't think so," he argued, pointing the gun straight at her.
Juliet raised her eyebrow. She focused on the gun and merely flicked her hand to the side, making it fly out of his hand. He looked down at his hand in disbelief before looking back up at Juliet.
"You're boring," Juliet commented. "I'm bored. So let's just get this over with."
She held out her hand and put most of her concentration on the man. With red energy traveling between her fingers, she held him in place, making a shocked expression paint across his face. Juliet then flicked her other hand towards her from the direction of the people on the floor. A pair of handcuffs instantly flew into her hands. Still keeping her concentration on the man, she approached him. Juliet forced his hands to be placed behind his back with her mind and she instantly put the handcuffs on him.
Juliet then flicked her hand again, causing the man to spin around to face her. She gave him a sickly-sweet smile before punching him straight across the face. The man fell to the ground, out cold.
She then looked over at everyone on the floor. They were all staring at her gratefully. Juliet moved her hand and caused Joe's handcuffs to fly off of him so he could help the others. She then walked up to Eddie, who still had a sobbing Iris next to him. Juliet knelt next to him and felt his pulse. It was there, but it was weak. With her mind, she brought the walkie-talkie the man had been using. It flew into her hand.
"Hi, this is Scarlet speaking," Juliet said into the walkie-talkie. "The man is knocked out and in handcuffs. All of the hostages are safe, but one of your detectives has been shot. Send an ambulance, I'll bring him down."
Iris let out another sob, making Juliet's heart shatter. "Thank you."
She nodded, Iris not being able to see the look on her face because it was blurred. "He'll be okay."
Juliet then placed her hands on Eddie's wrists and closed her eyes. She imagined the street down below, and after a short tingling feeling, she opened them again. Multiple police officers seemed to notice their appearance and rushed over to help Eddie. Deeming her work done, Juliet stood up.
Captain Singh then approached her. "Thank you, Scarlet."
"My pleasure, it's just doing what I do," Juliet replied simply. She then looked at how none of the buildings in the city had power. S.T.A.R. Labs still needed help. "Gotta flash."
Juliet then teleported back to S.T.A.R. Labs. It was risky, just coming back having no clue where Farooq was, but it was a chance she was willing to take. Now back in her regular clothes with her suit on the mannequin, Juliet looked around. She was standing in the dark cortex, but Barry, Caitlin, Cisco, and Dr. Wells were all there. Nothing big seemed to have happened yet.
"Everyone's safe," Juliet announced, but she then noticed their anxious looks. "What's going on?"
"Barry wants to talk to Farooq," Dr. Wells stated.
Juliet nodded and looked at Barry. "Okay. I'm with you."
He sighed. "J, no—"
"J, yes," Juliet insisted. "I know I'm the only one with my powers right now, but that means if things go south, I can at least try and find a way to defend us."
Barry didn't look too happy about it, but he nodded nonetheless. He then offered his hand out to Juliet. With a small smile on her face, she took it. The two of them walked out of the cortex together, Juliet's heart racing against her chest from both Barry and fear.
Farooq was down below. The two of them — with Caitlin, Cisco, and Dr. Wells behind them — made their way down there. Juliet and Barry cautiously approached, the sound of electricity getting louder with each step. Caitlin, Cisco, and Dr. Wells all stood behind a wall. Finally, Juliet and Barry met Farooq in the middle. He held up his hands, ready to attack, but Barry held his free hand out to stop him, pushing Juliet slightly behind his back.
"Woah, woah, easy," Barry began. "We're not gonna hurt you."
Farooq let out a humorless laugh. "You can't hurt me. Where is Harrison Wells?"
"We know what happened to you," Juliet added quietly. "You were changed the night the Accelerator exploded." She looked up at Barry for a moment. "But it changed us, too."
Farooq lowered his hands, the electricity extinguishing. "You were the ones in the red suits." He nodded to Barry. "I fed from you. I have to keep feeding."
He then started to approach them. Juliet stumbled backwards away, tightening her grip on Barry's hand.
"Hey, all right, I know this has to be terrifying," Barry said. "That's why we want to help you, okay?"
"The night of the explosion, when the light hit me, it stopped my heart," Farooq explained. "Jake and Darya—"
"Your friends," Juliet remembered.
"I woke up, and they were beside me, dead. They tried to give me CPR. They were touching me, and I electrocuted them."
"This is not your fault," Barry insisted.
Farooq got a scary look on his face. "I know." He lit up his hands with electricity again, and Juliet swallowed nervously. "Wells did this to me."
Juliet tried to shake off her fear. "Farooq, please, listen to us."
He started to lift up his hand. Juliet's eyes widened, and Barry turned around, roughly pushing Juliet back and to the side so that she crashed into Caitlin. Farooq then sent a bolt of electricity to Barry. It hit him and he was sent flying back.
"Barry!" Juliet screamed.
She then looked over at the lever. Juliet flicked her hand downwards so it pulled the lever, and the door immediately closed, separating them from Farooq. His electricity sparked against the door as it shut.
Juliet sunk to her knees next to Barry. He was groaning in pain and slightly twitching from the electricity. She placed her hands on either side of his face and looked down worryingly. Barry then reached up and gently touched her cheek. She then moved her hands to his shoulders and helped him sit up. Barry slumped against her, clearly exhausted.
"Not sure how long that will hold," Cisco admitted, gesturing to the door.
Dr. Wells looked down at Barry and Juliet. "Done being noble, Mr. Allen and Ms. St. James?" They both nodded. "Caitlin, get him to the treadmill. Cisco, bring the generator online. Juliet, go with Cisco and keep him safe."
"The treadmill?" Juliet repeated. "Why?"
"You'll see," Caitlin responded.
"J," Barry quickly interrupted. "Stay safe, okay? Don't let him feed off of you."
She nodded. "You do the same."
Barry then seemed to hesitate for a moment. He then stepped forwards, took her face in his hands, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Juliet looked up at him as he pulled away, the spot where his lips just were burning and sending small tingles throughout her body. Barry stared at her for a second longer before letting her go and following after Caitlin. Juliet watched him as he went.
"What?" Cisco then exclaimed. "You're not coming with us? I am not leaving you."
"Listen to me," Dr. Wells voiced seriously. "Of everything I've done in my life, of everything I have invented, my most important creations are the Flash and Scarlet, but right now, we don't have the Flash. Barry Allen must have a future. Now, go. Go!"
Juliet got over whatever the heck Barry had just done and offered her hand to Cisco, just to make sure that they didn't get separated. Cisco took her hand and started to pull her in the right direction.
"Where are the generators?" Juliet asked as they ran.
"Down another level," Cisco answered.
"Wait," Juliet stated. "Let me teleport us there. It'll be a lot faster. I don't know exactly where the room is, but at least I can get us below."
"I have to get some things first, though. They're in my workshop."
Juliet closed her eyes and teleported them to Cisco's workshop. Cisco let go of her hand and ran around for a moment before coming up with a flashlight and a very long wire. He then skidded to a stop in front of Juliet, who placed a hand on his shoulder. She then closed her eyes and imagined the even lower level of S.T.A.R. Labs. Before she knew it, the two of them were there. Cisco then started to lead them towards a room, his flashlight on and the wire slung around his shoulder.
Finally, he burst open a door that had power panels on it. He threw the wire on the table before running over to the panels. Cisco pushed a couple of buttons and flipped a couple of switches before pulling a lever. Immediately, the power inside the building turned back on. Juliet looked up at the lights.
"Come on," Cisco urged. "There's another room over here that we need to get to."
The two checked both ways down the hallway before deeming it safe. They quietly left the room and moved their way to another room, which had more panels and wires. Cisco immediately began using his large wire and plugged it into something — Juliet didn't really know what it was, and she didn't ask.
Juliet and Cisco were stuck in tense silence before the door burst open. They spun around, on high alert, only to see it was just Caitlin and Barry. Caitlin was supporting Barry and set him down on the floor inside the room. Juliet watched in concern.
"You're winded," Cisco commented. "That's not good."
"I need to take your blood and figure out what happened," Caitlin told Barry.
"What do you mean?" Juliet questioned.
Caitlin let out a sigh and looked up at her. "In order for Barry to get his speed back, we had to give Barry the same jolt that the lightning gave him the night of the Accelerator explosion."
Juliet's eyes widened and she focused on Barry. "You got struck by lightning . . . again? Are you all right?"
Barry didn't seem to notice her question and kept breathing heavily. "I can't believe he's dead."
"Dr. Wells?" Cisco inquired, panic setting in his face.
"No, no. Tony Woodward."
Juliet blinked. Tony was dead?
"He escaped from the pipeline," Caitlin said.
Barry looked up. "He must have got out when the blackout hit."
"Not possible," Cisco revealed. "The pipeline was designed to withstand a power outage. Someone had to have let him go."
"I did," the voice of Dr. Wells then admitted. Juliet turned around to see him in the doorway, and her eyebrows knit in thought. "I released him."
"Why?" Barry asked.
"To divert our intruder's attention while we worked to restore your speed."
"So you let him be a distraction?" Juliet questioned, her mind slightly spinning.
"An unnecessary one, as it turns out," Dr. Wells continued. "It seems the plan has failed."
"I . . ." Barry trailed off, looking down at his hands and shirt as Dr. Wells rolled further into the room. Juliet slowly walked until she was right next to Barry. "I have his blood on me. How could you do that?"
"You're showing a lot of sentiment for a man who tormented you and Juliet as children."
Juliet scoffed. "I have hated Tony my entire life for what he did to me, what he stole from me, and how he treated Barry, too. That hatred only heightened when he came back. But he didn't deserve to die."
"Does Caitlin, or Cisco, or me, or Barry, or you?" Dr. Wells countered. "I had a choice to make, him or us. I chose us without a second thought."
Barry shook his head. "Well, all your talk about miracle cures and scientific breakthroughs, but you don't care about people at all."
"Maybe you and Juliet care too much, Barry. I know being a hero is important to the both of you, and I respect your ideals. I just don't have the luxury of sharing them."
Juliet's eyes narrowed, venom laced in her voice. "Oh, your game's chess, right? Well, since we're all pawns in your game, tell us your next move, doctor. Which one of us will be the next sacrifice?"
Everything went silent. After that outburst, nobody really bothered Juliet and everyone started to just mill around the room. Juliet had her arms crossed against her chest as she stared at the floor. How could Dr. Wells justify something like this? Sure, Tony had forced himself upon her back in elementary school, but Juliet always believed that people like that deserved to sit and contemplate what they did for the rest of their lives instead of getting the easy way out and dying.
"We have to get out of the facility," Dr. Wells announced after a while.
"We just left him on D level," Barry stated.
"We'll never make it to the main entrance from here," Caitlin added.
Juliet blinked. "Hello? I can literally teleport."
"You haven't teleported with more than two people at a time, Ms. St. James," Dr. Wells cut in. "We haven't tested the limits on your powers."
"So then I'll just teleport two and come back for the others."
"There's still the question of how we'll get far away from the building, though," Caitlin revealed.
"What about the garage, the mobile lab van?" Cisco inquired.
"It's my move, Mr. Allen and Ms. St. James, and I say we make a run for it," Dr. Wells stated.
"Oh my God, Barry, look," Caitlin voiced, pointing to her laptop that was showing the blood sample she took from him. "Your cells, they're rapidly regenerating."
Barry held up his hand, which was vibrating before it stopped. "I still don't have my speed."
"It must be mental, not physical," Dr. Wells explained.
"Oh, you have the yips," Cisco told Barry.
Juliet blinked. "I'm sorry, what did you just say?"
"You know, when a second baseman all of the sudden can't throw to first or a golfer tries to putt and they get all embarrassed and upset, and then that makes the yips worse, and it's a hot mess, and then they feel like even more of a failure."
Juliet nodded slightly and looked down at the ground, trying to hide her smile.
"That's not helping," Barry responded.
Caitlin then tapped Barry's shoulder, and he turned to face her. "Look, you asked if I believed you and Juliet were struck by lightning for a reason, if you were chosen. I believe. You should too."
There was then a loud boom from the level above them. Juliet looked up. He was getting closer.
"Let's move," Dr. Wells ordered.
All of them immediately exited the room. As they were walking, Juliet felt Barry slip his hand into hers again. She didn't question it and allowed it to happen, though she couldn't deny the way her stomach was fluttering.
They finally made it to the garage. Barry let go of Juliet and ran towards the vans.
"Second van, keys are inside," Cisco called. "Come on."
"Get in, come on!" Barry shouted.
Juliet ran towards the van. However, as Barry tried to start it, it wouldn't turn on. The garage only got halfway open, and Dr. Wells' wheelchair stopped working. Juliet paused in her tracks and looked back towards the door, where two familiar hands full of blue electricity were.
"He's here," Dr. Wells stated.
Farooq instantly shot a bolt of electricity at the van Barry was in. Juliet gasped as she watched Barry open the door and jump out, falling to the ground.
"Barry," Juliet let out.
She focused on Farooq and pushed her hand back. He crashed into the wall — it would delay them only a little time. Juliet then ran over to Barry and knelt beside him, Cisco and Caitlin right behind her. He reached up to her and Juliet helped him sit up.
"You all right?" Juliet asked. "Did you get hit?"
"I'm okay," Barry replied. His eyes then set on something. "Guys."
Juliet turned. Walking towards them, stumbling slightly from his crash into the wall, was Farooq, his hands alight with electricity. He lifted up one of his hands. Juliet did so as well, a small amount of red energy traveling between her shaking fingers. It was a risk, but if she tried keeping him in place . . .
"Oh my God," Caitlin breathed out, her, Juliet, Barry, and Cisco all getting closer to each other. "Oh my God. No, please."
"Hey!" Dr. Wells yelled. Farooq turned to look at him. "You're here for me."
"Finally you show your face," Farooq said.
"Well, I wasn't exactly eager to be killed."
"Neither were my friends."
"I know," Dr. Wells agreed, staying eerily calm as Farooq approached him. "I hurt a lot of people that night."
"People?" Farooq repeated angrily. "You don't even know their names."
"Jake Davenport. Darya Kim. Ralph Dibny, Al Rothstein, Grant Emerson, Will Everett, Bea Da Costa." Dr. Wells looked at Caitlin. "Ronnie Raymond. I know the names of every person who died that night. I know they all mattered, and the fact that the world is now deprived of their potential is something that I have to live with every day, but these people — these people have done nothing wrong. You want to punish me? Fine, let's do that, but let these people live."
Well, now Juliet felt like the most horrible person. She had accused Dr. Wells of sacrificing other people, but here he was, sacrificing himself.
Farooq stared at Dr. Wells. "You died that night too."
He sent two bolts of electricity at Dr. Wells. Dr. Wells flew out of his wheelchair and landed on the ground.
"No!" Barry screamed.
"You just didn't know it till today," Farooq continued.
Juliet lifted up her hand again. However, just as Farooq sent two more bolts towards Dr. Wells, ready to kill him, Juliet felt her hair fly up and saw a flash of yellow lightning. Barry was no longer next to her but had grabbed Dr. Wells and ran him away, placing him in the spot he once was.
Barry then came back, wearing his Flash suit. Juliet stood up, red energy traveling up and down her arms. She watched as Barry dodged every bolt of electricity until Farooq finally caught him. Juliet stopped in shock, watching as Farooq's electricity went right through Barry's body.
"No!" Juliet yelled, her heart shattering at Barry's screams of pain.
However, as she continued to watch, something weird happened. Both Barry and Farooq seemed to be taking in most of the electricity. Then the electricity turned yellow, the same shade of yellow as Barry's lightning. Both of their faces started to glow red, and then Farooq and Barry fell to their knees, continuing to scream.
And then it was over.
All of the electricity and lightning disappeared. Barry, breathing heavily and his face gleaming with sweat, stared at Farooq. Farooq then fell to the ground and did not move again.
Juliet extinguished her energy. She slowly walked over to Barry and sunk to her knees next to him. Barry looked over at her, and Juliet gave him a small, sad smile. He then sunk into her arms, leaning his head against her chest in exhaustion. Juliet wrapped her arms around him tightly, basking in the comfort. Barry always felt like home.
A little while later, after everything had sort of settled, Juliet, Barry, Cisco, Caitlin, and Dr. Wells were in the pipeline. Juliet watched as Caitlin zipped the blue body bag that had Farooq in it in one of the cells.
"We could have called him Blackout," Cisco voiced.
"He had a name, Cisco," Dr. Wells responded.
"I'm just not sure what happened," Barry admitted. "Why didn't he just siphon all my powers like before?"
Caitlin took the tablet from Cisco. "Because you finally stopped thinking about your powers and just connected to them." She showed them the screen. "Look, this is a sample of your blood from just after you were struck by lightning. Now, your cells are generating more energy than ever before. It was more energy than the Meta could safely handle. It's almost like he choked on you."
"But what does that mean?" Cisco questioned.
"It means you've kicked it up a notch," Dr. Wells explained. "Ms. St. James, you're next."
"Oh, can't wait," Juliet commented. Cisco and Caitlin then left, but her and Barry stayed with Dr. Wells. "Uh, Dr. Wells . . . what I said earlier, about the whole chess thing . . ."
"And what I said about how you don't care about people, I—" Barry began.
"No, no," Dr. Wells interjected. "No, look, Barry, Juliet. There is a reason that my biography describes me as arrogant, prickly, brusque—"
"At times contemptuous," Barry quoted. He shrugged. "I read it twice."
"You two were right. I don't care much for people, Barry and Juliet. I find them misinformed, shortsighted."
"Then why do you work to help people?" Juliet inquired. "I mean, you literally wake up in the morning to help us every single day."
"Because I believe in a better future, one that I very much want to see, one that you two are a part of," Dr. Wells answered. "I might not much care for people, Barry and Juliet, but I care about you two."
Juliet smiled slightly. She then walked out of the pipeline, Barry trailing behind her.
"Iris texted," Juliet announced to Barry as they walked down the hallway. "Eddie's in the hospital, she said we could come visit."
Barry agreed. Juliet then teleported them to a flower shop in town, where they got a nice bouquet and a vase for Eddie. They then went into the hospital and went up to Eddie's room. Eddie was laying on the bed with Iris and Joe standing over him. Barry knocked on the door as him and Juliet entered.
"Hey, Allen and St. James," Eddie greeted, very smiley and happy.
Juliet smiled. "Hi, Eddie."
"Flowers." Eddie pouted as Barry placed the vase on the table. "That's so nice."
Iris approached Juliet and Barry and pulled them into a hug. "Where were you two all night?"
Juliet glanced at Barry for a moment. "Well, this one came over to my apartment, insisting that we had to eat all his ice cream before it melted."
Eddie giggled. "I love ice cream."
"He is on pain meds, lots of them, but he's gonna be okay," Iris told them. "It's been some night. I am gonna get some coffee. I'll be back."
Barry then approached Eddie's bedside as Iris left. "Dude."
Joe then pushed the vase of flowers off of the table. Juliet held out a hand, but Barry immediately ran and caught them right before they hit the floor. He then carefully placed it back on the table.
"Awesome," Joe stated. "I guess you're feeling better."
Barry nodded. "Oh, yeah."
"Did you guys see that?" Eddie asked.
Joe placed a hand on Eddie's head. "You're just high, partner."
Eddie laughed. "Right, I forgot."
Barry then glanced back towards the door. Juliet's eyebrows knit in thought as she watched him leave the room. She really had no idea what he was doing.
Juliet stood next to Eddie. "Heard Scarlet saved you tonight, Eddie."
Eddie's giggles increased. "Yeah. She appeared out of nowhere and just saved the day!"
"Uh-huh," Juliet commented in amusement.
Joe stared straight at her. "Thank you, by the way."
Juliet shrugged. "Scarlet's got your backs."
Joe raised his hand for a high-five, and Juliet obliged.
Barry then came back into the room, acting very nonchalant. Juliet stared at him curiously, but as she saw Iris walk back into the room with her hands empty and a thoughtful expression on her face, she knew what had happened. Barry had talked to her as the Flash again.
"Honey, you all right?" Joe questioned.
"Yeah, why?" Iris responded.
"You forgot your coffee."
Iris looked down at her empty hands. "Oh, uh . . ."
Juliet focused her gaze to the ground at Barry's smile. Guess all the affection she gave her today out of nowhere was because he was scared. Because, after all, it would always be Iris.
〖 ϟ 〗
SCARLET'S GOT THEIR BACKS LET'S GO BESTIES