"W-what! Whoa," Dawn says astonished. She takes in the full scope of STAR Labs; the high tech gadgets and computers and whiteboards filled with equations. Then her eyes land on a red suit in a display. My suit. Her face lights up as she steps closer to it.
"Hey Barry did you figure out how to boost the tachyon rate of the.." Cisco walks into the room side tracked by the tablet in his hands. He looks up at me and then shoots a look towards my suit. He sees Dawn.
"Uh.. Barry?" Cisco's face wears a mask of worry and confusion. Dawn turns around at Cisco's voice. She looks at me with cautious eyes then cowers into herself again.
"It's kind of a long story," I say, biting my lower lip.
>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<
"What do you mean 'she found out'?!" Cisco yells. He, Caitlin, and I are in the other room away from Dawn. I tried explaining the situation about how she just found out in a flash, for lack of a better word.
"Barry!" Caitlin says strictly, " You know how dangerous it is to be in this kind of life. And you just brought a kid into it!" I instantly feel shame wash over me. She's right.
"But- she knows. I panicked! Didn't know what to do!"
Cisco opens his mouth to talk. "What do you think her parents would do if she gets hurt! They would sue us!"
"I don't think you have to worry about that," Dawn says with a matter-of-factly tone. All eyes land on her. "I don't have parents. I live in foster care."
Wow. She really has a thing for catching people off guard. "I'm sorry but you have to understand. I am not a child. I am almost fifteen. Also, I could be a really big help to you guys. I'm one of the smartest people in the world."
Cisco snorts. "489 x 621"
Not even two seconds later Dawn comes up with the answer, "303,669." Wow. Even Caitlin looks impressed.
"Okay so you know math. What help is that?" Caitlin asks. Is she really doing this right now?
"You think math is all I know? Fine. Test me, Dr. Snow," Dawn challenges. Wait. How does she know Caitlin's name?
Caitlin doesn't seem to notice so she continues with her questions. "What is the difference between an ectoparasite and an endoparasit?" Cisco looks like he doesn't understand a thing she just said. Dawn on the other hand not only understands Caitlin's words, she also answers the question, "Ectoparasites are parasites that live on the exterior of a host. Endoparasites are parasites that live inside of the host. Now that I'm done proving that I am a genius can I please be on your team?"
We all look at each other, communicating with our eyes. Finally Cisco says, "Can you keep a secret?"
Dawn smiles and nods.
>>>><<<<
Harry had a fit when he found out about Dawn. Jesse on the other hand, well she was actually pretty excited. Technically Dawn is the closest one on the team to her age. "How old were you when you memorized the bones in the human body?" Dawn asks. A weird question in my opinion but Jesse seems to answer it as if she was asked what her name is.
"I was ten years old when I memorized the bones in the human body, but when I took my anatomy test in fourth grade I missed a question so technically I was eleven before I knew all of them perfectly." They laugh over the story as if it was some embarrassing prom story. Weird. Jesse continues, "How about you?" Dawn responds with an answer that floors everyone in the room.
"Seven."
"Seven?"
Her face turns red and she replies with with a nod.
Iris stalks towards me. "Wow it's like they have their own language." I raise my eyebrows and nod.
"She's pretty too," Iris says. "But the black eye?"
"She's in foster care," I say with a nod. A look of pity washes across her face.
"Oh."
The familiar buzzing of the metahuman alert goes off and I dash to my suit. As soon as it's on I rush to the area of the meta.
A man in a dark suit stands in front of me. Blue lightning surrounds him. He stands there like he means to do serious harm to someone. I hear Cisco's voice inside my ear.
"Barry! What's happening! The security cameras are down. I have no visual."
I decide to charge the creature anyways; I run in a circle around it, preparing to throw a bolt of lightning at it. As soon as I get to speed the man flings a strong arm at me and hits me directly in the chest. Next thing I know I'm flying through the air and then accelerating towards the ground. On impact I hear the ear splitting sound of my ribs crackling against the pavement. The thing turns and then disappears into thin air leaving me stunned. I get up as quickly as possible and race back to the lab.
When I get there Caitlin is already holding bandages and ice. She hands the ice to Dawn while she cleans the cuts on my face. Dawn hands me the ice and when she does her eyes go hard as if she is studying me. Her eyes then travel down to my chest and I cough. When I do pain rips through me.
"Oh sorry. I was just.. Um.. Can I?" Before she even finishes the question her hand presses against the center of my chest and a groan slips out of my mouth. I sit back in the chair and press the ice lightly where Dawn's fingers were.
"Hmm, your sternum is fractured," she says.
From behind her I hear Cisco say, "You knew that just by looking at him?" She nods.
"Well I figured. Then I tested my theory and well, see this bruising? That means its fractured and not broken. If it was broken all the way well, let's just say-"
"Not good." I say, remembering what she said to me the first time we met. "It'll take a few weeks to heal," she says.
Cisco, Caitlin, and I smirk. A look of confusion masks Dawn's face. "I don't only run fast."
Her face brightens with amazement. "You heal fast too?" I give a nod. She smiles and her eyes are almost star struck. Her cheeks become even more rosy than they naturally are.
"Cool." She says.
>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<
The next day Dawn comes to STAR Labs. She walks in with her face puffy and her eyes red. She puts on a smile and greets everyone. "Hey." Harry sighs and walks out of the room. Dawn turns to me with hurt and confusion. "Was I not supposed to come here again?"
"No you were. Harry is just worried about having kids running around the lab. Are you okay?" I ask. Instead of an answer she walks towards a cabinet labeled "splints and bandages". I follow her as she gets out a small fiber glass splint board and gauze wrap. Then she pulls her hand out of her pocket and I cringe. Her fingers are so purple they are almost black; they are bent in odd, unnatural angles and covered in a thick coat of dried blood. "What happened?"
"I'm fine," she says. She exhales and straightens out her fingers. They make horrifying cracking sounds and she winces and her eyes get watery. She finishes splinting her hand, not even shedding a tear. When she finishes she lets out another long exhale. Then she looks up at me with eyes so sad I have to look away. "What. Happened." I make my voice sympathetic but stern.
"You should have seen the other guy," she laughs. Frustration seems to bury me alive.
"This is not funny! Look at you! Your fingers are shattered!" She looks down.
"I live with three other foster children. The oldest is sixteen. I didn't like what he said to me." I sigh.
"So you hit him?" I asked.
She scowls at me. "He hit me first. And no. I didn't break my own fingers."
I nod, understanding. My heart hurts by the end of our conversation. I wrap her in a hug and she stiffens as if she is scared of me.
"Uh.. What are you doing?" She asks. I smile. "Its called a hug, Dawn. Its what you do when someone is sad."
"I know what a hug is Barry, but why are you giving me one?" she says, completely serious.
"I'm just letting you know that I am here when you need me." She nods and hugs me back cautiously, like she doesn't know how to exactly. Then she inhales like she is trying to memorize my sent. Like I would leave her in the dust in a blink of an eye.