⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰
𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
mind control
⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰
WHEN JULIET WOKE up, she was not in the airplane hangar that she was in before. Her eyes blinked opened to see fluorescent lights and a roof that could be opened. The lab.
Juliet pressed her palms to her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut, her head throbbing. "Oh God."
"You passed out," Joe's voice said.
"Thanks. I could've never figured that out on my own."
"I came as soon as I heard," Barry stated, skidding to a stop inside the lab. He then approached Juliet, staring down at her worryingly as she laid on top of the table, still in her full suit. "What happened?"
"Snart's new partner, he's got this handheld flamethrower," Joe answered. "Everyone got out without any injuries, thanks to Juliet, but she collapsed when Snart and his partner ran off."
Barry placed his hands on either side of Juliet's face. "God, J, I'm so sorry. I should've been there."
"It's okay," Juliet replied. She then lowered her hands from her forehead and used them to slowly push herself up, wincing slightly as she did so. "I used too much energy. When I overexert myself with my powers, I tend to get weaker faster, almost like my body can't keep up with the amount of electricity that I have inside of me." She sighed, and Barry placed a hand on her back, rubbing it softly. "I'm just glad everyone's safe though."
"The next time Snart and his pyro pal show up, I want both of you to make them sorry they ever messed with you," Joe ordered. "Not one or the other. Both the Flash and Scarlet."
Juliet looked up at Barry. His green eyes met hers, giving her the same tingling feeling she always got. He gave her a small nod, signaling that he was in. Juliet nodded back. It was back to the two of them.
Joe slowly left the room, leaving Juliet and Barry alone. Juliet looked down at her hands, suddenly feeling very awkward. She never usually felt awkward around Barry, so it was strange.
"I thought you were training," Barry voiced, breaking the silence. "Trying to learn more about your powers."
Juliet blinked. "I am. I've been trying to understand them, but the more I use them for a prolonged period of time, the weaker I get. Maybe . . . maybe it's, like, a mental block, or something. Or maybe I just have to get my body used to using a lot of my powers at once."
"But what if Snart and his partner hurt you after you collapsed?"
"I don't see how that's relevant right now."
"It's relevant to me," Barry insisted, making Juliet slightly freeze. "I should've never let you go out there alone."
Juliet raised her eyebrows. "What? You don't think I can handle myself?"
"No, I just don't want you to get hurt."
"Well, I'm fine." She gave Barry a tight smile and stood up from the table. "I just need to train harder."
Barry gave her a look. "You shouldn't push yourself too hard."
Juliet scoffed. "You're one to talk. Who's the one trying to get faster to beat the Reverse Flash? You. Now I'm going to get stronger to beat Snart and this pryo maniac."
With that, Juliet teleported away back to S.T.A.R. Labs. She found herself in the cortex alone. Juliet sighed and looked down at her hand, which had red energy traveling between her fingers. She watched as it did so.
"I just want to understand you," Juliet whispered, and it seemed pathetic to her that she was just talking to energy. "I've learned that you can make me powerful. Now I need to know how you can make me stronger."
Juliet teleported out of her suit and back into her regular clothes, which were sitting on a pile on a table, courtesy of Caitlin. She then walked into the room that had the treadmill in it and sat down, continuing to stare at the energy in her hand. It was fascinating, really, how her brain just had so much electricity now that her body didn't know what to do with it, and this was the end result.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps enter the room. Her gaze focused to a pair of beat up Converse. She knew those all too well. Juliet sighed and extinguished the energy, dropping her hands back down to her side.
"I'm sorry," Barry told her. And from the tone of his voice, Juliet knew he meant it. "I didn't mean to make it seem like you didn't have anything under control. I'm just worried about you, J."
Juliet shrugged. "I know. And I'm worried about you, too. This whole Reverse Flash thing . . . I want to be there for you. And if that means going on more solo missions by myself, then fine. I just . . . I need to figure out my powers completely."
"I can help," Barry offered.
"It may just be a me thing," Juliet admitted. "Like you figured out your speed, I have to figure out—" she summoned a ball of red energy in her hand "—whatever this is."
"You will. I know you will."
"You will," another voice repeated, and the two of them saw Dr. Wells wheeling into the room. "We've been so focused on Barry's speed that we've completely disregarded your powers, Ms. St. James. And I apologize for that."
She gave him a small smile. "It's okay."
"We'll figure out a way to help you stop over-exerting yourself with your powers. I promise."
Juliet nodded. "Sounds good."
Dr. Wells then looked up at Barry. "I hope we're not enemies."
"What?" Barry asked. "No, of course not."
"I thought you might blame me for pushing you to pursue your training rather than help the police, and in turn, cause Juliet to pass out."
"Look, I'm an adult. I make my own choices, my own mistakes. And I'm glad you push me to be better. It's so weird. There was a time in my life that I would've paid money for your autograph. I'm sure J would've too. And now we're . . ."
"Partners," Dr. Wells stated.
"I was gonna say friends," Barry revealed.
"In case you doubt it, you two push me to be better too."
Cisco then came into the room. "Guys, you have to come look at this."
Barry looked down at Juliet. He offered his hand to her, and Juliet used it to pull herself up. However, when she stood up, their eyes locked again. Juliet felt herself freeze as Barry's eyes trailed across her face. She then snapped out of it and cleared her throat, letting go of his hand and following Cisco out into the cortex, her face flushed.
Cisco showed them a diagram of the heat gun. "When the heat gun was fired, it increased the surrounding temperature of the air dramatically, sort of like an extreme heat wave." He looked at Dr. Wells with a smirk. "Heat Wave."
"Stop doing that," Dr. Wells demanded.
"Okay. I measured the temperature output of both the cold and heat guns, right? And while the cold gun achieves absolute zero, the heat gun successfully reaches absolute hot, or the hottest temperature an object can reach."
"Planck temperature," Barry said.
"So potentially, these two guns could cancel each other out," Dr. Wells realized.
"Yeah, but to do that, you'd have to make them cross streams," Cisco explained.
"You mean like Ghostbusters?" Barry questioned.
"That film is surprisingly scientifically accurate."
"And really quite funny," Dr. Wells added.
"I can do it," Juliet interjected. "I have this whole mind control thing, don't I? I can just focus on the guns in their hands and make them turn towards each other."
"With all do respect, Ms. St. James, you've only ever controlled one person at a time, and that was to hold them in place. Now this is two people, and you'll be making their hands shift positions."
Juliet shrugged. "It's worth a shot, right?"
Barry then pulled his ringing phone out of his pocket. "Hey, Joe. What's up?"
Juliet watched in concern as Barry's face fell. And then suddenly, she felt arms wrap around her waist and pick her up. She felt the wind in her hair and against her cheeks. Then it was all over. Barry set her down, and Juliet stumbled back a bit.
"A warning would've been nice," Juliet told him, trying to blink herself back to reality. "What happened?"
"Caitlin's car was attacked by Snart," Barry voiced, making Juliet's eyes widen. "Come on."
The two of them came out of the alleyway Barry had ran them into. They immediately saw caution tape around the scene and headed over to it. As Juliet got closer, she saw that the side of Caitlin's green car was completely frozen.
"Joe, anything?" Barry began.
"There's no sign of Caitlin," Joe answered.
Juliet stared at the frozen car for a moment, her heart sinking before an angry look appeared on her face. "Fuck Snart. We have to find him."
"Damn right we do. Come on, let's go."
The three of them went back to the CCPD. Juliet was basically silent the whole time, worried for her friend and what could happen to her. They exited he elevator into the precinct.
"Joe, Joe!" Eddie called, running down the stairs and up to them with a file. "We got a hit, a second pair of prints. They belong to a Mick Rory."
Mick. That was what Snart had called the guy with the fire gun.
"Who is he?" Barry inquired.
"Big-time arsonist," Eddie replied. "He and Snart worked a job last year that went bad. Half of Rory's body was burned in a fire that got out of control. He escaped from an ambulance on the way to the hospital, hasn't been seen since. Why would they kidnap someone like Caitlin?"
Juliet and Barry shared a quick glance. They knew the answer. It was to get them.
"Joe, Thawne, it's on every station," Captain Singh announced, pressing on a remote.
Juliet averted her gaze to the TV inside the precinct. The sight she was met with made her eyes widen and her heart stop. Caitlin was in the background, tied up to a chair and whimpering as Rory held her back. Snart was up close to the camera.
"Greetings citizens of Central City," Snart stated. "I am Leonard Snart, but you can call me Cold. I'm gonna make this very simple for everyone. That red streak and that materializing figure you've been hearing whispers about, the ones mysteriously saving people these past few months? Well, surprise, they're real. They call themselves the Flash and Scarlet. Porter and Main, tonight, sundown. Come out, come out, wherever you are, Flash and Scarlet. Show the whole world you're real. Or this woman dies."
"No, don't come for me!" Caitlin insisted. "Stay away!"
Rory dragged Caitlin away, and Snart turned off his camera. The TV went black. Juliet stared straight ahead of her, her teeth gritted in anger. She looked up at Barry to see him with the same expression as her. They had to save her.
Juliet and Barry returned to S.T.A.R. Labs in the mean time, anxiously awaiting sundown. She stood stiffly in the cortex, her arms crossed as she stared at her suit on its mannequin. Barry absentmindedly paced next to her.
Finally, when a golden glow started to enter the building, Barry's phone buzzed. He pulled it out and immediately pulled it on speaker.
"Hey," Barry greeted.
"Okay, you're on," Joe responded. "Good luck, you two."
"Thanks."
"Barry, Juliet, after tonight, everyone's gonna know that the Flash and Scarlet exist. Are you ready for that?"
Juliet glanced up at Barry, and she saw the answer reflected in his eyes, as sure as it was in her own mind. "We'll see you soon."
Barry then hung up the phone. Juliet pushed herself off of the desk she was leaning on and stopped right in front of the mannequin that had her suit.
"I'll be there as back-up," Barry said quietly. "But you'll take the charge."
"Yeah?" Juliet voiced.
"Yeah. I know that your plan of mind control just work. And if you pass out again, I'll take over."
Juliet nodded once at him. She teleported into her suit, and then instantly teleported to Porter and Main, just like Snart told them to. Once Juliet arrived, Barry sped to a stop next to her. They saw a police barricade set up, and all of the police officers — minus Eddie — all looked shocked.
"The Scarlet Speedster and just Scarlet," Snart announced, and Juliet looked to see him and Rory walking up to them in the street with their cold and flame guns. "Any preference on how you'd like to die? The flame or the frost?"
Juliet and Barry shared a glance before walking forwards. They said nothing.
"Not in the mood for chitchat. Gotcha. Ready when you are."
Snart and Rory fired up their guns. Juliet felt energy ignite in her veins and she summoned to red balls of energy in her hand. Barry ran away to keep them distracted. It worked, because they shot both fire and ice at him as he flashed. Juliet immediately threw one ball of energy at Snart, who tried to block it with his gun, but it did nothing. He flew back against a car. While he was distratced, she through the other at Rory, who ducked and stumbled out of the way.
"Cover me!" Snart yelled to his partner. "Watch her!"
Rory pointed his gun at her and flames flew towards her. Just like she had back at the airplane hangar, Juliet lifted her hands up and formed a wall of energy in front of her. As the flames burst holes through her wall, Juliet patched them up. She could feel herself getting tired and dizzy, but she took a deep breath and held on.
Snart then took his cold gun and fired it along the street before hitting a fire hydrant. It burst, and a splash of water got frozen. Rory stopped pursuing Juliet and watched as the flash of yellow lightning that was Barry slipped and crashed into the ice. Juliet's eyes widened as she saw Barry slide across the ground and land behind a car.
"Barry, Barry, are you okay?" Dr. Wells asked over the comms. "You know what you have to do."
"No," Barry protested. "What Juliet has to do."
"Are you sure you're up for this, Ms. St. James?"
She smirked. "Bring it on." Juliet teleported in front of Rory and Snart, who seemed to have forgotten her for the time being. "Hey! Catch me if you can."
Juliet then immediately started to teleport around different parts of the street. Rory and Snart let Barry slip their minds and just focused on trying to stop her materializing figure. However, as much as they shot their guns, they couldn't catch her.
Finally, both of them had their streams continuously going at once. Juliet stopped in one place and held out both of her hands — one at Snart, and one at Rory. She split her concentration in two and focused on both of them, walking forwards to get closer to them. When she glanced in between them, their hands were surrounded by red energy. The two of them glanced down and tried to move, but Juliet just held her concentration on them tighter. She could feel herself getting weaker.
Let me understand you, she thought to herself. Let me be strong.
Juliet let out a yell as she moved her hands towards each other, ultimately creating an X with her arms. She watched as Rory and Snart's hands also moved, therefore moving their guns as well. The streams of fire and ice crossed over each other, and just like Cisco said, they canceled each other out. Smoke surrounded the streams until ultimately, Snart and Rory got blown back from the impact. They flew through the air and landed on the ground.
Rory seemed to be knocked out. However, Snart was still up. He noticed his cold gun was near him. Juliet watched as he started to crawl towards it. She merely focused on the gun and flicked her hand, causing it to fly even farther away from him. She stood over him, breathing heavily.
Snart laughed. "I didn't see that coming. I guess you win this time."
"This time?" Juliet repeated. "No. This will be the only time."
Eddie then came up behind her, pointing a gun at Snart. Juliet glanced over at him, making sure to blur out her face, and gave him a wink. She then teleported away and went back to the cortex. Barry sped in next to her, immediately taking his mask off.
"J, oh my God," Barry began, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in for a tight hug. She slightly giggled, feeling her mind cloud with exhaustion. "You were incredible."
"Indeed," Dr. Wells agreed. "You did great, Juliet."
She smiled. "Thanks."
Juliet and Barry then returned to the CCPD, now in their regular clothes. They all stood in the precinct, waiting for Snart and Rory to arrive. She stood next to Barry, her hands in the pocket of her jacket. The elevator doors finally opened, and everyone started to clap as police officers took in a thrashing Mick Rory and a perfectly calm Leonard Snart, both led by Captain Singh.
"Aah!" Rory yelled. "I'm gonna burn every one! Every last one of you pigs! Get your hands off me!"
He then elbowed one of the police officers holding onto him harshly, making the officer let go and stumble back. Juliet's eyes slightly widened and she held her hand by her side, red energy traveling to her finger tips.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" Joe protested, pulling his gun out and pointing it at Rory as Captain Singh helped the other officer handle him.
Rory growled and yelled in Joe's face before being dragged away. Snart looked almost embarrassed to be with Rory, making Juliet slightly grin to herself.
"Your partner's a real hothead," Joe commented.
"That's funny," Snart replied in his monotone voice.
"You know what's hilarious, Snart? We got you."
"Congratulations."
Joe looked at the officer holding him. "Get him out of here."
They took Snart away. Eddie then trailed up behind, holding the cold gun and the flame gun that they had used.
"Nice work, Eddie," Barry complimented him.
"It wasn't me," Eddie insisted. "It was Scarlet. Well, the Flash too, but mostly Scarlet."
Juliet glanced up at Barry and lowered her voice. "Scarlet's got it."
Barry elbowed her side. "Shut up."
Eddie handed the guns to Cisco. "We're not gonna be needing these for the trial. You'll make sure—"
"They'll never hurt anyone ever again," Cisco finished.
He placed them into a bin. Captain Singh then approached Cisco, but Juliet didn't listen into their interaction due to her phone ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket and immediately smiled at the name Oliver flashing across her screen. Juliet walked out of the desk area and went by the stairs, answering the phone.
"Hey, Ollie," Juliet greeted.
"Hey, Jules," Oliver responded. "What's up?"
"Oh, nothing much. Just defeating two guys who had flame and cold guns with mind control. The usual."
Oliver slightly laughed. "Sounds riveting. Hey, uh . . . if you want to, I know a good restaurant around here. You could maybe do that teleport thing that you do and we can go together?"
Juliet smiled widely, her stomach rushing with butterflies. "Oliver Queen, are you asking me out on a date?"
"Maybe I am, Juliet St. James."
She nodded to herself, her heart racing. "I'll be there in twenty. See you soon."
Juliet then hung up her phone, a feeling of fresh air filling her lungs. She was going on a date with Oliver Queen.
〖 ϟ 〗
um did I change the fighting scene pretty much entirely so juliet could pop off? yes yes I did
not barry acting suspicious lol bye