⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰
𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
scarlet's got it
⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰
IF SHE WAS being quite honest, Juliet St. James had absolutely no idea how she got Oliver Queen to like her.
According to pretty much everyone else, Oliver was brooding, guarded, and barely cracked a smile unless around the people who managed to chip at his tough exterior. Yet here Juliet was, knowing him for only so long, exchanging phone calls filled with flirts and laughter and exchanges of how they should definitely see each other soon.
But as much as Oliver Queen was stuck in Juliet's mind, someone else always managed to worm their way back in. Barry. Her feelings for him were always there, but the prominent feeling that stuck out when she thought about him wasn't romantic this time (even though that was still up-front). Instead, it was concern.
He had been beating himself up over letting the man in the yellow suit get away and not being the fastest man alive anymore. Juliet could tell that it was taking a toll on him. And especially after confessing to Iris that he loved her, Juliet watched as Barry got more and more closed off. He started to put his mind only in training, hoping to get faster.
Juliet stood on the airplane runway, the very same one that they had used their powers for the first time on. Her arms were crossed as she watched a drone fly after the flash of yellow lightning that was Barry, occasionally shooting missiles at him to dodge. Cisco was the one in charge of controlling this drone while Juliet, Caitlin, and Dr. Wells observed.
"That was too close," Caitlin scolded Cisco.
"He told me to make it hard," Cisco argued.
"Pretty sure he didn't tell you to make him dead."
"Remember, this is just supposed to be a training exercise to improve Barry's speed," Dr. Wells stated.
"Cisco, you gonna bring it or what?" Barry asked through the comms.
Juliet shared an exasperated look with Caitlin. Oh boy.
"Bring it," Dr. Wells confirmed.
Juliet saw a much larger missile fly off of the drone. Barry ran away from it, but got blown back from the explosion as it hit the ground. Juliet slightly winced as she saw him get up. However, as the drone continued to fly at him, Barry didn't move.
"Why isn't he running away?" Caitlin questioned. "Barry, run away."
Juliet held up her hand slightly, her mind focusing on the moving drone. Red energy started to spark between her fingers. If she had to step in, she would. All she could hope right now is that Barry knew what he was doing. This was his fight, not hers.
Another missile flew at Barry. However, in a flash, he grabbed it and turned the missile around, sending it flying into the air. It crashed into the drone in a fiery explosion. Juliet nodded in impressment. Sick.
Barry got out of his suit, and they ordered lots of Big Belly Burger for him. And by lots, Juliet means lots. By the time he finished his last burger, there was a large pile of trash behind him. Juliet sat on the table and ate some fries that she had managed to sneak away from him.
"Very impressive, Mr. Allen, your reaction to stimuli at super speed continues to improve," Dr. Wells stated.
Barry shook his head. "It's still not enough."
"It will be. You keep working like you are, you stay focused like you are, and you will be ready the next time your man in the yellow suit comes around."
"I think you mean the Reverse Flash," Cisco corrected.
Juliet raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"What? He said it, not me. And he's right. Yellow suit, red lightning, and evil. The reverse of Barry."
"Meh," Caitlin said.
"Actually, I kind of like it," Dr. Wells admitted.
"All right, I'm still ready for another round," Barry announced. He pointed to Cisco. "How many more drones do you have left?"
"Two," Cisco answered. "And they've got lasers."
Juliet's eyes widened and she looked at Cisco. Lasers?
"No," Caitlin and Dr. Wells chorused.
Like always, their superhero activity was always cut short by their CSI job calling. Juliet and Barry stood on the crime scene which was a place with very expensive imported cars, her crouched down by the ground and Barry standing over her. She examined the broken pieces of steel on the ground. Her eyebrows were knit in confusion. It didn't make sense. That door was basically industrial, and here, it was just . . . shattered?
"Jules," Joe's voice began, and she looked up to see him and Eddie approaching her. "Barr."
Julie shrugged. "This breakage indicated that the door somehow had absolutely no viscoelasticity when it hit the ground."
"What does that mean to normal people?"
"The steel shattered like glass," Barry translated.
Juliet then reached out and picked up one of the broken pieces of steel. She held it up to her face and examined it closely. Suddenly, everything started to fit together in her head. There was only one way that the steel could've been shattered like that, and she saw signs of it on the piece.
"Joe, Barry," Juliet voiced slowly. She looked up at them. "It was frozen."
"Snart," Joe said.
Juliet nodded. "Guess he's back."
"I thought Snart was some world-class thief," Eddie cut in. "All these expensive cars . . . he didn't take any of them? It doesn't make sense."
"Eddie, put out an APB on Snart," Joe instructed.
"Got it."
Juliet dropped the piece of steel on the ground and stood up. She shared a look with Barry. The two of them knew why Snart had broken in. It wasn't to steal, or show the cops his cold gun — it was for the Flash and Scarlet.
"Snart wasn't here to steal anything," Barry revealed.
"He was setting a trap," Joe concluded, starting to walk away, the two CSI's following him.
"For J and I. And by us, I mean—"
"Yeah, I know who you meant."
Once they finished up with collecting more evidence, Juliet and Barry went back to S.T.A.R. Labs. They immediately told Cisco, Caitlin, and Dr. Wells about what they had discovered while they were at the crime scene.
"Captain Cold is back?" Cisco inquired as all five of them entered the cortex.
"For a non-Metahuman, Leonard Snart is proving to be quite the nemesis," Dr. Wells commented.
"He still has the cold gun, the one he stole from us, the one I built."
"Well, what does he want this time?" Caitlin asked.
Barry sighed. "The Flash and Scarlet. If Snart wants a fight with the Flash and Scarlet, then we'll give him one."
"Well . . ." Dr. Wells trailed off.
Juliet's eyebrows raised. "You don't think that we should?"
"I didn't say that, but Juliet, Barry, as fast as the two of you are, you cannot be everywhere at once. And it becomes then a question of priorities. Now, in the last month, Barry, you have made a commitment to increasing your speed, enhancing your reflexes. Juliet, you have also made a commitment to further understand your powers and get stronger. And it's working. You're both finally getting faster and stronger."
"Okay, but what are we supposed to do, just ignore Snart?" Barry voiced.
Dr. Wells let out a deep breath. "The last time you had a fight with Snart, a train derailed. You both were lucky to get all those people to safety. And if you don't give him that fight . . ."
"He may just back off, and there'll be no casualties."
"Look, Barry, Juliet, Cisco and I will work with Joe and the police and devise a way to catch Cold. Yes, I said it, Cisco. As soon as it came out of my mouth, I heard it."
Cisco nodded. "Yeah, we can definitely come up with ways to neutralize Snart."
Dr. Wells wheeled up to Barry and Juliet. "Listen, you two. Whether or not you go after Snart, that's your choice. We here, we will do whatever we can to support you. But after this past Christmas, after the events with the Reverse Flash . . . I just think he poses a greater threat to all of us."
Juliet looked up at Barry, making her voice quieter. "If you want to stop and focus on the Reverse Flash right now, you can. That's your fight. I can focus on Snart — Scarlet can handle it."
"You sure?" Barry responded.
"I'm sure."
"Okay." Barry slung an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head — which is something he did not normally do, and it made Juliet extremely confused. "Thanks J."
"You're welcome," Juliet replied, trying to keep the confusion out of her voice.
And, like they always had to do, Barry and Juliet returned to the CCPD the next day. They walked into the precinct together. Juliet scanned the room — Joe was nowhere to be found. However, she did find Iris sitting on Eddie's desk, giving him a kiss. She glanced up at Barry to see him with a crestfallen look on his face. Juliet nudged his side with her elbow, silently telling him that she could handle it. She then walked up to Eddie's desk.
"Hi, 'Ris," Juliet greeted, smiling brightly at her best friend.
"Hey, Jules," Iris said. She then smirked. "Any calls from Oliver today?"
Juliet felt her face get hot. "No, not today. Um, Eddie, do you know where Joe is?"
"Uh, I think he's upstairs in your lab," Eddie answered.
"Cool, thanks." She reached forwards and squeezed Iris' shoulder. "See you later."
"Bye, love you!" Iris called after her as Juliet walked away with Barry.
"You and Oliver have been calling each other a lot lately," Barry noticed, him and Juliet starting to climb the stairs.
Juliet nodded, smiling fondly. "Yeah. It's nice. He's actually really sweet."
"Really? Oliver Queen? Sweet?" Barry slightly scoffed. "Don't know how you managed to get that side of him to come out."
"It's because I'm irresistible."
"Keep telling yourself that, J."
Juliet laughed in response as her and Barry entered their lab. Sure enough, there was Joe, reading a file in his hand as he sat at Barry's desk.
"Joe, hey," Barry stated.
"Hey," Joe responded. "I'm glad you both are back. I've been going over Snart's file."
He then handed the two of them to-go coffee cups from Jitters. Juliet's grin widened as she took hers, instantly taking a sip. Warmth spread throughout her and she savored the sweet taste.
Barry took his. "Thanks. Yeah, I need to talk to you. Um, as a CSI, mine and J's work on this case is done. And as the Flash, I don't think I can focus on Snart right now."
Joe shut and placed down the file. "You mind telling me what brought about this change of heart?"
"This man in yellow, the man that killed my mom, is still out there. I have to be ready to face him, which means amping up my speed. It's a question of priorities."
"Your mom's killer isn't the only reason you've been doing this. You both told me that if you could use your powers to save someone from a burning building, you would."
"Look, Dr. Wells and S.T.A.R. Labs are gonna work with you," Barry told Joe. "Cisco thinks he has a way to protect the police against Snart's cold gun."
"Barry, I can understand if you're scared, we talked about this," Joe insisted.
"Of course I'm scared, Joe. This guy could run into the precinct and kill everyone in here in seconds. He threatened Iris and Noelle and snatched up Juliet before I could even blink. I won't let him hurt the most important people in my life again. If that means devoting every second I have outside this place to getting faster and to stopping him, then that's what I'm gonna do. I'm sorry, I've made up my mind. Besides, you've got Juliet."
Juliet frowned as Barry walked out of the lab. She sensed that he needed a little bit of space, and knowing not to push him, she let him go. Juliet then turned back to Joe with a small smile.
"I told him that I would take over this one if he wanted to focus on the Reverse Flash," Juliet explained. She held up her hands, which now had red energy traveling between her fingers. "And Scarlet can take it."
Joe reached up and ruffled her hair, making Juliet giggle. "Yeah, I know she can. Now, about Snart . . ."
ϟ ···················· ϟ ···················· ϟ
JULIET ENTERED S.T.A.R. Labs alone, the sound of her shoes hitting against the floor being the loudest thing in the whole building. Her original plan was to go downstairs and train, but to do that, she needed to get her suit first. Juliet decided against just teleporting straight into the cortex and took the elevator up, leaving herself alone with her thoughts for a moment. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket and walked into the cortex. However, she wasn't alone.
"Hey, Caitlin," Juliet voiced. She then winced at the way she gasped and jumped in response, slowly approaching the desk. "Sorry."
"No, it's fine," Caitlin reassured her. "I was just . . . focused, I guess."
"I see." She then looked at the screen, where Caitlin had searched FIRESTORM. "What's Firestorm?"
"It's one of the last things Ronnie said to me before he flew away from flames shooting out of his hands. My dead fiancé can fly . . . don't really know how I'm going to tell my parents that." Caitlin looked up at her. "Are you doing okay? I couldn't help but notice you look a little tired."
Juliet sighed and sat down on the desk. "Uh, I am tired. Back before Christmas, Barry told Iris that he loved her."
Caitlin's eyes softened sympathetically. "Oh, Jules, I'm sorry."
"No, don't be sorry. It was bound to happen." She looked down at her hands. "Kind of pathetic how I'm upset over it even though Barry and I would never happen."
"Hey, don't say that."
"It's true, though," Juliet insisted. "But as both of their best friends, I'm just left trying to pick up the pieces. They were so normal, and now it's . . . not. And for some reason, I kind of feel like ever since I started talking to Oliver, Barry's been slowly distancing himself away from me. It's all so confusing."
"I knew exactly what was going to happen every day of my life before I met Ronnie," Caitlin said. "It was predictable, and I like that. And then Ronnie and I started dating, and he started to change my whole life. He made my try Indian food and scuba diving."
Juliet let out a small laugh at Caitlin's tone. "Guess you didn't like scuba diving that much."
"Not really. But . . . everything was so scary at first before it got better. I guess things weren't really normal with Barry pining after Iris while she was unaware, or you pining after Barry while he was unaware, and now they're definitely not normal with you having a vigilante romance with Oliver Queen. But Juliet, no matter what happens next, it'll be better."
Juliet gave her a soft grin. "Thank you, Caitlin."
"And you know you don't have to pick up the pieces of Barry and Iris' relationship, right?" Caitlin urged.
"Yeah, but I hate seeing them like this, so . . ." She shrugged as she stood up from the desk. "Just doing my best friend duties."
"All right, whatever you say."
Juliet then had a spark of realization, and she slowly straightened up. "Caitlin . . . scuba."
Caitlin stared at her. "What?"
"Most people think it's just a word, but it's actually an acronym. It stands for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus."
Caitlin's eyes widened. "What if Firestorm isn't a word?" She then typed F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. into the search bar, and instantly, a scholarly research paper popped up. "Fusion Ignition Research Experiment and Science of Transmutation Originating RNA and Molecular Structures." She looked up at Juliet. "Jules, it's eight-hundred pages."
Juliet immediately pulled out her phone. She texted Barry nothing but Please come to S.T.A.R. Labs. Within ten seconds, the familiar flash of yellow lightning sped into the cortex. Barry stopped, looking around.
"What?" Barry asked. "What? What happened?"
"Nothing happened," Juliet replied. She then gave him an innocent smile. "Can you please read eight-hundred pages worth of Fusion Ignition Research Experiment and Science of Transmutation Originating RNA and Molecular Structures for us?"
Barry blinked at her. "What?"
"Please, just do it."
Barry shook his head and approached the computer. "The things I do for you."
"You love me," Juliet protested.
"Hm, debatable."
At super speed, Juliet watched as Barry's eyes scanned across the page and his fingers tap the down arrow on the keyboard. He finally got to the end and stood up, letting out a deep breath and blinking a couple of times. Juliet looked at him questioningly.
"There's a lot of stuff in there, but it mostly focuses on transmutation, which is the process of altering the structure of an element by unzipping the atoms—" Barry began.
"And rebuilding it to create an entirely new element," Caitlin finished.
"What is this for, exactly?"
"Ronnie," Juliet responded. "Apparently, he said this to Caitlin before he shot off in flames into the sky."
Barry looked down at Caitlin. "Well, the article was co-written by Jason Rush, who's a grad student here at Hudson University. So if anybody knows what happened to Ronnie—"
"Maybe he does," Caitlin voiced.
"Maybe."
"Thanks," Caitlin told them.
Juliet then suddenly got a call from Joe. She walked a little bit away from Barry and Caitlin and answered it. Before she had a chance to talk, Joe said something.
"Scarlet, we need you."
Juliet's eyes widened. She quickly teleported into her suit and sensed Joe's location at an airplane hangar, immediately teleporting there. When she got there, she saw Snart blasting a line of police officers with their shields with his cold gun. They stood their ground, making Snart stop firing his gun.
"Snart!" Juliet ordered, and he looked over at her. "It's me you want, not them."
He pointed his gun at her. "Where's your sidekick?"
"You mean my partner?" Juliet countered, summoning balls of red energy in her hands. "He's not here. It's just me."
"Unlucky for you. Mick!"
A new man then came out from behind the airplane, also holding a gun. He was wearing a long brown coat and also had goggles on.
"What the hell?" Joe exclaimed.
"Why do they call you people the heat?" Mick called. "I'm the heat!"
"Shit," Juliet cursed.
He fired his gun, and flames immediately started to come out of it. Juliet threw out her hand in front of the police barriers, creating a wall of red energy to protect them. The flames burned through her energy, creating holes. Juliet focused all of her energy into it, building up the wall so the police officers could get to safety.
She had been training to become stronger. Juliet had been trying to work on not over-exerting herself, but in high-pressure situations, she just tended to use her powers whenever she could. Now she was realizing this was a mistake — as Snart and Mick shot their guns of heat and cold at her wall, she could see black spots start to dance in her vision. Her mind was spinning and her muscles were aching.
No, Juliet thought to herself. No, not right now. Come on, Jules. Stay awake.
And then suddenly, it was over. Heat and flames disappeared, and Snart and Mick ran off. Juliet watched them go, not having any strength at all to try and follow them. The room spun around her and she suddenly had no strength to hold herself up anymore. Juliet felt her knees buckle and she fell to the ground, her body screaming with exhaustion.
"Scarlet!" Joe's voiced shouted. "Scarlet!"
Her eyes slowly fluttered shut, and everything went black.
〖 ϟ 〗
I know you guys love jules and ollie but due to a series of unfortunate events they will have to break up soon 🫶🏻
I KNOW I'M SORRY BUT THIS IS A BARRY ALLEN BOOK AFTER ALL