In the parking lot of Saloon Sounds, was Izzy Bowen putting her things away in the back of her car when suddenly a breach opened and closed up. "Izzy Bowen, we need you to come with us."
The girl turned over to see The Flash, Supergirl, Mon-El, Elongated Man and Vibe heading her way. "Flash? Supergirl?" She asked.
"You're in danger," Flash said.
"I know, everybody keeps telling me that," Izzy said.
"And you're gonna keep hearing it until it sinks in," Elongated Man said.
"You just have to trust us," Mon told her.
"We're not gonna hurt you, but we know someone who will," Supergirl said.
"Who is going to hurt me?" Izzy asked.
"I am."
They all turned around to find Becky DeVoe in the distance, but seeing her, Izzy started laughing. "Y'all came to warn me about her?" She asked.
But Flash and Supergirl stepped around the country star, eyeing DeVoe down while Vibe, Mon-El and Elongated Man followed in their footsteps. "DeVoe," Flash sternly greeted.
"Hello, Flash," DeVoe said.
"You're gonna leave Izzy alone," Flash told her.
"You know, you really don't learn from our past encounters, do you? You're not smart enough to stop me from getting what I want," DeVoe said before she glanced over to Izzy, "And what I want now is her."
"That's not gonna happen," Elongated Man said.
"It's five against one, genius," Vibe said.
"Check your math, Vibe. It's five against six. Though I doubt I'll need to use all of my powers against you," DeVoe said before her eyes glowed purple.
Suddenly Vibe's goggles glowed purple, and his arm sparked up in purple as well. A blast escaped his hand and crashed into Elongated Man. It stretched him into a car, then stretched back into his friends, knocking them all down. "Get off!" Supergirl exclaimed annoyed, pushing Elongated Man off of her.
Izzy looked down at them for a moment before looking at DeVoe to see she was eyeing her with a smirk. "You stay away from me!" She yelled before her arms reached out next to her and the frequency from before blasted out from her chest, slamming itself into DeVoe. She went flying across the way and landed harshly on the ground.
The heroes slowly stood up as they saw Marlise suddenly appear behind DeVoe, helping her up, before the two of them disappeared again. The heroes looked shocked at the events before them before looking at Izzy, who was breathing heavily. "You just hurt DeVoe," Mon said.
"Who the hell's DeVoe?" Izzy asked.
STAR Labs
Izzy stood in the cortex confused, staring at The Flash, Supergirl, Mon-El and The Elongated Man while Vibe and Caitlin scanned her vitals. And with Iris sitting in the back the computers. "So, you're telling me that this three foot tall chick that tried to kill me is actually this Clifford DeVoe?" Izzy asked.
"Oh, yeah. One hundred percent a dude," Vibe said as stepped to the side, putting his scanner away.
"Mmm-hmm. DeVoe is transforming his consciousness to to the other bodies of all the other people who were on the bus and got their powers with you," Caitlin explained and Izzy looked at her.
"Wait, this — this little girl wants my body?" She asked.
"That's why we're trying to protect you," Flash said and Izzy looked over at him, "DeVoe's already taken most of his targets," he then gestured to the bus meta board, which Izzy stared at dumbfounded.
"No, this ain't happening. Not now. I only got my powers recently. And now it's like I've got a deeper connection to my music than I've ever had. I'm about to record the rest of my new album — I'm about to go on tour-"
"Izzy, your album can wait. This threat is real," Flash said.
"So is my big break," Izzy sternly told him, "Do you have any idea how hard I've had to work for this? I left my home. I lost friends and good men, and I have put up with more crap than you could imagine so that one day I would get my dream. And now you're telling me that some pint-sized lunatic is just gonna take it all away?"
"Which is exactly why we want you to stay here at STAR Labs," Supergirl said.
"Why? Are y'all gonna protect me or something?" Izzy asked.
"We're gonna train you," Flash said.
"We are?" Mon asked.
"We are?" Vibe asked.
"We are?" Elongated Man asked.
"Guys, her powers weakened DeVoe," Flash said before he looked back at Izzy, "Izzy, that makes you our best shot at stopping him."
"No, no, this — this is all too much. I don't even know who you people are," Izzy said.
"We don't have time for this," Flash said and Supergirl shot him a look.
"Don't you dare-" she started.
But Flash lifted up his cowl revealing himself behind the mask while Supergirl huffed annoyed. "Flash!" Iris snapped as well, but he didn't listen.
"You're the guy from before," Izzy realized.
"Yeah, Barry Allen," Barry said.
"You are too," Izzy said, pointing at Mon, then at Elongated Man, "And so are you, aren't you?"
"Yeah," he muttered before taking off his mask, "Ralph Dibny."
"I'm, uh, Cisco," Vibe muttered and Izzy looked back at him to find he had taken off his goggles, "Cisco Ramon. It's nice to meet you."
"Okay, thank you," Izzy muttered annoyed.
"I'm not telling her my identity," Supergirl stated.
"Look, look, I-I don't need training. Especially from you. All I need is my life back," Izzy said before she stormed off.
Ralph then sighed, "I don't know, guys. I kinda feel like if I just followed her into that hallway and just gave her one of those, Hey, look, inspirational talks, I could probably get her to stay," Ralph said and they all looked at him annoyed.
"Then what are you still doing here?" Cisco asked.
"Sorry, I don't know if you, like, drew straws for this stuff or something," Ralph said.
"No!" Mon exclaimed.
"Go!" Iris snapped.
"Okay!" Ralph muttered before he began to run after Izzy.
When he caught up with her, he found her in the corridor where the elevator was. "I'd watch out if were you. Sometimes killer robots come out of there,"
"Keep walking, Stretch," Izzy said, keeping her back to him, "I don't talk to creeps in dark hallways dressed in purple leather."
"It's actually, uh, more of a mauve," Ralph said and Izzy rolled her eyes, "And uh, I'm not a creep. Look, Izzy, I know how you're feeling. That day that you got your powers, I was on the same bus. So that evil chipmunk, she wants to kill me, too."
Confused, Izzy glanced back at him while he stepped on the side of her. "Please. I think I'd remember seeing you on my bus," she said.
"Actually I was kind of, uh, big boned back then. I was on a strict diet of gin, donuts and regret. But I got another shot at it. And I worked my tight butt off. And now I'm the hottest superhero in town," Ralph explained.
But Izzy scoffed, "Please," she muttered.
"My life, it's never been better. Kinda like yours," Ralph said and Izzy looked at him again.
"Yeah, but aren't you afraid of losing it all?" She asked.
"Yeah, I am. Which is why I'm a part of this team. You said that your family bailed on you, so I can understand why you wouldn't trust someone to look out for you, but, Izzy, I can tell you firsthand that these amazing weirdos, they won't bail. They created a buddy system for me. And if you'll stay, they'll keep you safe. I promise," Ralph explained.
The elevator then opened and the two glanced at it before looking back at each other. "So? Who's gonna be my buddy then?" She asked and he laughed.
"I may have to pull some strings, but I will see if I am available," he said which she giggled a little.
———
The next day, the group stood in the garage of the facility where The Flash with his cowl off stood behind the safe zone with Caitlin, Cisco, Iris and Mon-El. Supergirl walked up to Izzy, and handed her her violin. "This will help focus your powers," she said.
"Well, this ain't much help in a fight, unless you're dueling the devil," Izzy said and Supergirl softly chuckled.
"Don't think of it like a weapon. Just do what you've always been dreaming to do. Make your own sound," Supergirl said before sending her a small smile and walking over to the safe zone with everyone else. Except Ralph. Who had walked over in front of Izzy, a far enough distance from her.
"Are you my new target, Stretch?" Izzy asked.
"Yeah, cause I don't break so easy," Ralph said but Izzy scoffed.
"Please, you're built like a twig," Izzy said as she settled her violin between her chin and shoulder. Ralph sent her a warm smile before she started playing the violin, sending blasts out from her towards Ralph as she did.
Ralph was stretched back many many feet and when Izzy finally stopped playing, and Ralph stretched back to normal, a smile stammered to her lips seeing how out of breath Ralph was.
———
Meanwhile, Harry was in Cisco's Workshop when suddenly Cecile walked in, slamming down a huge paper bag, obviously with heavy something in it. "DA Cecile Horton," Harry said before he looked at her, "You look tired."
"Yeah, that's cause I am tired. This thing, it doesn't work," Cecile said and Harry calmly placed his tools down on the table in front of him.
"It works because I built it. And this thing, so you so ineloquently put it, happens to be a mental activity dampener that is ten pounds of cerebellum proof of anti-telepathy somani steel. Thank you very much," Harry told her off.
"Yeah, that's the problem. It is — it's ten pounds of that stuff," Cecile said.
"So?" Harry asked.
"Oh, gee. Okay," Cecile said before she pulled out a large chunky helmet out from the bag. She placed it on her head and gave Harry a look. But he still didn't understand what the problem was.
"And?" He asked.
"I can't sleep like this, Harry. Does this look comfortable to you?" Cecile asked.
"I guess I was — While I was pulling state of the art technology out of my ass to help you with your problem, I forgot to make things comfortable for you!" Harry snapped and Cecile eyed him, like a mother would a child in annoyance, "Are you kidding me with comfortable? You know what else I forgot? I guess I also forgot while I was coming up with a generational breakthrough-" He threw one of the tools across the room, causing Cecile to flinch and scream, "And vibrational brainwave theory," he threw another tool across the room, "That I was working for the Princess and the Pea-" He grabbed another tool to throw when Cecile pointed at him angrily, again like a mother would a child.
"Stop it! Stop!" Cecile snapped and Harry froze, staring down at her hesitantly, "Put it down," but he looked at the tool, considering throwing it anyway, "Harry..." and he looked at her, "...put it down," finally he placed the tool down.
She sighed frustrated before she pulled the cap off of her head, "Okay, just," she then slammed it back on the table before sending him a look, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"I'm frustrated!" He snapped.
"You're frustrated?!" Cecile snapped.
"Yes," Harry answered.
"You start yelling at me and throwing things?! It is like every awful thought you have, it just comes pouring out of your mouth totally unfiltered. I don't even under— !" She suddenly gasped when she heard what was going on inside his head, but he just stared at her, knowing it was pathetic but didn't feel bad for how he was acting, "Is this normal behavior for you?"
"Sometimes behavior," he muttered.
"Okay. If I wanna hear a grown man scream like a child, I will go home and listen to Joe's stress dreams about showing up naked to math class!" Cecile snapped.
"Eww."
"Just—" She then grabbed the cap and shoved it in Harry's arms, "Take your thing, Harry," and she scoffed, walking out of the workshop, "See you later."
Harry looked down at the cap he was holding, annoyed with it. "It's heavy," he muttered.
———
Six hours later, down in the garage, Izzy shot another blast towards Ralph, but missed. Again. All while Barry and Supergirl stood in the safe zone, watching this. "You missed. Again," Ralph said.
"Well, what do you expect, Ralphie? I've been doing this all day," Izzy said before she huffed, "I need a water break." She then walked off to the side and Ralph walked with her.
Supergirl and Barry watched them together before the girl looked up at her husband. "Maybe we should call it a night," she said.
"Not yet. She's barely landed another shot on Ralph," Barry said.
"She needs more time, Bar," Supergirl said and Barry looked down at her.
"She held her own again DeVoe. Totally on raw instinct," Barry said.
"Yeah, I know. I was there," Supergirl said, her eyebrows furrowing up, "It took months to train Ralph. And us even longer-"
"We don't have that kind of time," Barry said, "This is our change to get ahead for once. If DeVoe shows up again, we have to be ready," he then walked away from her and onto the training zone, "All right, Ralph, I'm taking over."
"Uh, thanks, Bar, but we kinda got this covered over here and-"
"Gotta push her, Ralph," Barry said before he walked over to a table full of ShatterBlast targets. He picked up a single one before looking back at Izzy, who had handed her bottle to Ralph. "All right, Izzy, I wanna see if you can hit a moving target."
"Okay," Izzy softly said.
"You ready?" Barry asked as Supergirl watched Izzy situate herself.
Barry tossed the ShatterBlast towards her which she was very quickly able to hit. "Nice," Barry muttered before he backed up towards the table again, "Take it up a few notches."
Suddenly, he zoomed off, taking all the ShatterBlasts with him, throwing them in the air as he ran around her in circles. For the most part, Izzy was able to blast every one of them, but it became too much for her. A broken piece pierced into Izzy's arm, causing her to groan out in pain. "Ow!"
Barry froze in place while Ralph ran over to her. "Barry!" Supergirl snapped before she also walked over to Izzy to see if she was alright.
———
Later on that day, Barry was in the med bay, looking at a computer, specifically looking at the pictures of the bus metas. He couldn't help but think he couldn't save them. He turned away from the computer when he heard footsteps. He saw Kara walk in, out of her suit and in her normal clothes. "How's Izzy?" He asked.
"She just needs some stitches, but she'll be fine," she assured and Barry nodded, "Ralph won't leave her side. I think he's starting to develop a little crush-"
"He shouldn't be bothering her at all," Barry cut in and she gave him an odd look, "I mean, she needs to stay focused."
"Izzy might be scrappy, but this is her first day training with powers she's only had for three months," Kara told him.
"I know-"
"Barry, don't you think you're being too hard on her? I mean, you're almost acting like J'onn," Kara said.
"I'm just trying to teach her how to protect herself," Barry told her.
"No, it's seems like you're trying to turn her into a hero," Kara said and he looked up at her, "Not everyone wants to be a hero, and that's not a bad thing. Izzy is just trying to survive."
"Well, she's not going to if I don't push her," Barry said before he caught her worried eyes, "You weren't there. You didn't see what DeVoe did at Iron Heights. I saw up close what DeVoe did to Becky. To all of them. They — and I — I couldn't do anything except just stand and watch it happen. DeVoe is ruthless. He's not gonna stop until he's taken her powers and her life. He's not gonna go easy on her, so neither can I."
Kara slightly nodded before approaching him, cupping his face so he could look at her in the eyes. She softly smiled before caressing his face. "I am sorry that you experienced that. I am sorry that you saw that and we only got there just a few seconds later. But Barry...we can't be ruthless like him. He is willing to sacrifice anyone and anything. Remember that the next time you're pushing too hard, okay? You of all people know that heroes aren't made overnight," she said and a smile muttered on him. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his lap causing a small giggle to slip out of her mouth. She then leaned down and kissed him softly.
West Household
When a knock echoed throughout the home, Cecile walk up to the door and opened it to reveal Harry on the other side. "Joe's not here," she said.
"Well, I don't wanna talk to Joe," Harry said and Cecile stared at him surprised.
"I kind of figured after our last conversation you would never wanna speak to me again," Cecile said.
"No, it's fine," Harry said but Cecile heard what he was thinking.
"You do know I can hear your thoughts, right?" Cecile said.
"Right," Harry muttered and Cecile rolled her eyes.
"No, Harry, I'm not gonna yell at you again. Just-"
"All right, good," Harry said before he awkwardly cleared his throat and handed her something, "Here. That's the-"
"Mental activity dampener," Cecile read off from his mind, "Sorry. Version 2.0."
"Just adhere it to your supraobital ridge. You'll block West out," Harry said before he turned to leave but then faced Cecile again, "Look, I'm sorry about," he then mimicked him yelling, and throwing things, "You know, I just recently can't seem to stop DeVoe, can't stop my daughters Jessie and Kara from hating me, can't seem to stop blowing it when I'm trying to befriend someone who's my own age-"
"Did you just say befriend?" Cecile asked and Harry hesitated to answer, "That's what you've been trying to do? You've been trying to befriend me?"
"Well, yes, through transitive property. I respect West, West respects you, so-"
"Harry, that was borderline sweet," Cecile said.
"Thank you," Harry said.
"Okay, well, let's talk," Cecile said.
"When?" Harry asked.
"Now," Cecile said.
"Okay," Harry said before he walked into the house, closing the door behind him. "I'm not much-"
"Come on, Harry," Cecile said who was already sitting on the couch.
"Okay," he muttered before he walked down and sat on the couch, "What do we wanna talk about?"
"Oh, okay. I'll start," Cecile said before she gestured down to the mental activity dampener in her hand, "Um, you wanna tell me how this thing works? Like, does it- does it keep Joe's brainwaves blocked out? Does it keep my mind reading waves locked in?"
"It mostly disrupts inbound brain activity, but I suppose actually if you were to reverse the polarity-"
"Wow, that is interesting," Cecile said, reading it all off from his kind.
"Also-"
"Yes. Harry, you have to do that," Cecile said.
"Right," Harry muttered.
"Right now," Cecile said.
"Okay, good chat," Harry said before he got up from the couch and headed for the door.
"Yeah. Okay," Cecile muttered with a smile.