Since my early night had failed and sleep wasn't going to come to me anytime soon, I figured that I might as well go and do my stakeout now. Adorned in my usual Cosmic costume, I flew all the way to Keystone from my apartment in Central City. To say I was tired when I arrived at Tony's bachelor pad was an understatement.
I cautiously hovered into the warehouse, flying up high towards the rafters to give myself some security within the darkness of the building so I could remain unnoticed. I leapt from beam to post, trying to get a good look at his accommodation while trying to remain quiet in the shadows.
"Who's there?" I heard him shout in my direction. I immediately pushed my body flush against the steel support, tugging my cape in to prevent it drifting in the slight breeze. He went back to his own business, which I assumed was conjuring up some evil scheme to lure everyone to his house... Was he already in the middle of his plan, just waiting for Barry to turn up for him being a Class A Dick to Iris?
There was a small rift in the corrugated metal wall behind me, small enough for me to see outside and to notice that our old friend, Streaky Bacon, had arrived.
"This is the place." I heard him say into his earpiece, not being too subtle about it as he just gave away his location.
Unfortunately, I missed Tony punch him in the face, but I managed to get a look of Barry being hauled towards a giant shelving unit, which was then thrown down on him. Tony then soon fled as I could hear his car driving away. I swooped down from the rafters and felt a sense of déjà vu.
"What the hell, Streaky! I had a really successful stakeout going and then you come and ruin it, and now I have to save your ass, again." He didn't reply, only with a grunt of pain as I lifted the shelves from him and gently pulled him out from under the endless piles of junk that had fallen on him.
"Y'all okay?" I asked, a hand on my hip as I looked down at him lying on the floor.
"Ow."
"Let me ring your friends, hang on." I quickly dialled the number Cisco gave me from a crappy phone that I bought for Cosmic issues which I had rigged with an unknown caller id since I didn't exactly need Cisco Ramon on my tail 24/7.
"Hello, Caitlin speaking?"
"Hi, Caitlin, it's Miss Cosmic. Could I speak to Cisco please?"
"Um, he's driving at the moment. Is there anything I can do to help?" I could hear Caitlin asking Cisco how he got my number, but he shrugged it off, knowing that his flirting wouldn't go down well in a time like this.
"I found your friend underneath a shelving unit in Tony Woodward's warehouse. I've pulled him out, but he seems in a bit of pain, I'm assuming that you're driving here to pick him up?"
"Yes, we are. Just make sure he doesn't try to run anymore and we'll get to you as soon as we can."
"Okay, see you soon," I replied, hanging up the phone and looking back down at Barry. "What am I going to do with you, man?" I muttered, folding my arms as I paced back and forth.
"And here's me thinking that you only called me Streaky Bacon," he laughed, though, it ended up turning into a coughing fit.
"It's funny because I'm always saving your bacon," I snorted, laughing at my own joke.
"This is only the second time, okay?" Barry gruffly replied, obviously not enjoying my joke.
"You need to stop running in blind and start thinking sneaky. The sneakier you are, the more you can afford to screw up."
"That's easy for you to say, you can fly or whatever it is you do," he brushed off.
"I've heard that you can run up walls and on water," I retorted, giving him a triumphant smile.
"I'm assuming you got your powers from the particle accelerator explosion as well," he said, breaking the silence that had formed over us.
"Yes, I did. Not sure why they're these powers specifically but all I know is that I've got them."
"Oh, I think that might be my friends," Barry muttered, as the headlights of the S.T.A.R. Labs van's headlights shone in the distance.
"I know who they are; you can say their names, dork," I scoffed.
"How do you know I'm a dork?" Barry asked in surprise, though, he wasn't expecting me to snort with laughter at him not being annoyed that I called him a dork.
"You hang around with lab rats all day."
"I won't tell Cisco that. He's always going on about you ever since he saw you levitate two guys in mid-air. It's all Miss Cosmic this and Miss Cosmic that, even though he doesn't even know who you are."
"Iris West doesn't know who you are, but she writes a whole blog about you. I should give her some Streaky Bacon recipes; I'm sure she'll like that," I replied, grinning at him.
"You're on there too, Cosmo."
"Great nickname, I'll be sure to add it to my collection." I snorted, rather ungracefully. "So, do you think you can get up yet?"
"Maybe," he said as he groaned in pain as he shuffled around, trying to put his hands on the floor to push himself up. I rolled my eyes from underneath my mask as I flicked my fingers, moving him upright without him having to move an inch himself.
"I forgot you could do that," he groaned, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yeah, yeah, sure thing, Speedy."
"Oh, thank God you're okay!" Caitlin said as she ran in with her first aid kit box.
"Miss Cosmic, always a pleasure," Cisco beamed, a tilted smirk on his face.
"Hi, Cisco," I chuckled, smiling at him.
"I think our friend owes you a big thank you, right, Bacon?" Cisco said, clapping a hand on Barry's shoulder.
"Not you as well," Barry groaned in pain in response to Cisco hitting his shoulder.
"Even I think it's a little funny," Caitlin piped up after giving Barry the once over. "I think you'll be all right, just a few cuts and bruises."
"I don't think Dr. Wells is too happy with you. After what he said about you running with your emotions and everything," Cisco warned.
"Running with your emotions," I repeated, laughing to myself while trying not to disturb the other's conversation. "If you guys don't mind, I'll be going since it's way past my bedtime."
"Thanks again, Cosmo," Barry said, giving me a half salute as I nodded.
"No problem, make sure you think about what I said," I replied.
"What did she say?" I heard Cisco whisper to Barry, a slight grin on his face.
"She told me to be sneakier."
"Sounds like good advice, if you ask me."
I flew off into the distance until I got about ten metres away from the warehouse and began to feel dizzy, my purple wisps were becoming fainter and fainter by the second as I felt myself crash into a fence.
"Ow ow ow!" My cape was caught in the top of the wire fence, leaving me hanging by my neck. I screamed out a string of profanities as I tried to use my energy to get me down, but failed. "Shit," I cursed, wriggling to try and pull my cape down manually.
"Cisco! Bacon Boy!" I called out. This was my worst nightmare, having to ask help from my only fanboy and sidekick.
"Oh, well that's new," Barry said, a smirk on his face.
"Could you help me down please?" I fretted, pulling my cape slightly so it couldn't constrict my airway.
"What happened?" Cisco asked.
"I haven't eaten all day, and I have that thing." I paused, trying to find the right word. "You know, the thing where your metabolism is too fast and you have to eat loads of food." I hated having to play dumb with them, fully knowing what the condition is called. I suppose playing stupid may keep me alive someday.
"You're hypoglycaemic?" Barry asked, raising an eyebrow.
"If that's the word for it then yes," I replied.
"You have that too, don't you, Friend?" Cisco said, looking at Barry.
"Why don't you guys just use a fake name?" I sighed, getting fed up with not being able to call him Barry.
"That sounds like a better idea than being called Friend or Streaky Bacon," Barry reasoned.
"You act like you don't like being named after one of the greatest foods ever. Bacon Boy strikes again!" I joked, accidentally smacking my arms against the chicken wire fence. "So, about getting me down from here?"
"Oh yeah, Ben, wanna do the honours?" Cisco said.
"So, I'm Ben now?" Barry replied, raising his eyebrow.
"Sounds like it, Ben the Bacon Boy," I chuckled. 'Ben' came over to me, apparently feeling slightly better now, and reached to grab the sides of my arms as he lifted me upwards and towards him, untangling my cape from the wire and putting me back down on the ground.
"Thanks," I mumbled, hoping my embarrassed blush wouldn't be seen through my mask.
"Is that a blush I see?" He whispered, moving his finger lightly against my suit.
"Um, no, it's windburn," I whispered back, avoiding his intense gaze.
"Uh-huh, whatever you say, sweet cheeks. So, I think this counts as saving your ass, so you're welcome," he said, cockily raising his eyebrow.
"I'm still one up, Bacon Boy," I stressed, looking up at him, a smirk planted firmly on my face.
"We'll see."
"You don't mind giving me a lift back to Central City, do you?" I asked in a hushed tone.
"Would that count as saving your ass twice?" I could hear the smile in his voice as his breath fanned my face.
"No, this is the same ass saving session. I had to fly both of us all the way to S.T.A.R Labs and no offence, but maybe you should lay off the bacon. And I got thrown against a dumpster because of you and sustained my first superhero injury."
"It is okay?" He asked me, worry and sympathy laced in his voice.
"It was only a cut to my arm, nothing significant. It's probably healed by now."
"Probably best that you don't fly home then, wouldn't want to risk anymore windburn."
"Are you guys done yet?" Cisco interrupted, yelling from their car.
"Are you going to put me down anytime soon or do you just like pinning me against things?" I asked, giggling slightly at the end as he let go of my arms.
"Does running give you windburn too?" I joked, seeing that his face had turned a light pink, a slightly noticeable blush adorning what skin could be seen through his mask
"Um, sometimes."
"I see."
"What took you guys so long? Wells is going to have an almighty long rant at you now." Caitlin said, waving her hands in the air.
"We need to give Cosmo a lift back to Central City since she can't fly back," Barry stated.
"Oh, I can ask you more questions, yay!" Cisco reacted, doing a fist bump into the air.
"Cisco, I'm not sure we need to bother the lady anymore, she looks as though she's about to fall asleep any second," Caitlin said, taking notice of my state.
"M'tired," I mumbled as I rubbed my eye.
"I know, I know. Let's get you in the car," 'Ben' said as he gently tugged my elbow towards the car, before opening the door for me.
"She'll have to spend the night in the lab, without Dr. Wells knowing since we don't have any idea where she lives or anything," Cisco offered.
"I can walk from S.T.A.R Labs; it's not a big deal," I shrugged.
"Nope, absolutely not. You're clearly exhausted since I doubt that you've had enough sleep for a good few nights, and it's not safe nowadays. I know you would normally have your powers to protect you, but you can't rely on those right now," Barry said angrily, apparently not wanting me to get hurt.
"I know, I know. It's hard to sleep sometimes with all the voices," I replied.
"Voices? In your head?" Cisco asked with a curious tone.
"Yeah, it's a weird psychic thing, it's kinda hard to explain." I shrugged, not really willing to go into details about how I can talk to dead people and such.
"Don't worry about it," Barry said rather sympathetically.
"Cisco, did you tell him about the thing?" I asked.
"Oh, no I haven't," he replied.
"What thing?" I looked over to Bacon Boy, a small smile finding it's way to my face.
"Cisco finally thought of a better name for you, Streaky," I replied, my smile forming into a grin.
"Please don't tell me it's actually Streaky Bacon?"
"No, no. It's legit," I reassured.
"Come on, Cisco. Just spit it out already," Barry said impatiently.
"We figured you could be called 'the Flash' instead?" Cisco said, rather triumphantly.
"We?" Barry inquired, looking over at me with a smirk.
"Cosmo and I. She actually came up with the name."
"Aw, you did?" Barry asked me, nudging my arm slightly with his elbow, a hint of a smirk on his face.
"Uh huh. I told Cisco that he could have the credit if he wanted it," I brushed off.
"Yeah, well, I felt bad," Cisco replied, giving me a guilty look.
"Aw, Cisco, you shouldn't have."
"Can I not ask you one question? Please?" Cisco begged, giving me puppy dog eyes.
"As long as it's not about my identity, I'll let you ask one if I feel like answering," I shurgged.
"Favourite Disney film-"
"The Jungle Book," I blurted out, instantly regretting my choice to answer truthfully as everyone apart from Caitlin, who was driving, turned round to me and stared in shock.
"Surprised that you didn't say Frozen or something," Barry muttered, shaking his head.
"My favourite princess is Mulan, though," I admitted.
"What? Puh-lease, Ariel is where it's at." I gasped in horror, shaking my head wildly and that ill-informed scientist in front of me.
"Are you kidding me? Mulan sacrificed herself to save her father from going into a war which he would surely die in and saved all of China. Ariel doesn't even compare, my friend."
"Part Of Your World kills Reflection any day, though," Cisco said.
"At least Mulan knows what the words to her songs are. They're truthful and have a lot of meaning behind them. Haven't you ever felt that you had to be like someone else to make your family proud, Ramon?"
"I guess."
"I like Pocahontas, she was pretty badass," Barry said, adding fuel to the fire.
"She fell in love too quickly and have you seen that sequel? It was terrible," I said, flicking my hair over my shoulder with sass.
"Remind me never to ask her anymore Disney questions, ever again," Cisco asked Caitlin.
"Yo, sis. Have you tried erasing someone's memories before? I'm pretty sure you could give it a shot."
"And how do I do that? Read their mind and just think, 'Hey, forget about it!'" I scoffed internally.
"Maybe?"
"Guys, can I try something? It might get us out of our little predicament," I asked, deciding to just try it.
"Sure, go for it."
"Caitlin, can you hit Cisco for me? Don't ask, just do it, but make sure it hurts and is memorable."
"Um, okay?" She replied, seeming confused as she gave him a whack on the bicep.
"Ow!" I stared at him before closing my eyes and entering his mind like I was going through a library, wanting to read every page. 'Hey, forget about it!' I thought, feeling a weird wave of something go from my head to Cisco's.
I opened my eyes, looking at Cisco and seeing a very confused Barry and Caitlin.
"We saw some weird purple light if that helps. What did you do to him?" Barry asked.
"Let's find out. Hey, Cisco, what's my favourite Disney film?" I asked him.
"How the hell am I supposed to know? Frozen?"
"Oh my God, it worked," I gasped.
"What the hell?" Caitlin exclaimed.
"Cool," Barry muttered.
"What did you do to me?" We all said at the same time. Barry seemed to be the most impressed whereas Caitlin looked worried about her friend.
"I erased your memories of the last few minutes," I smiled, very proudly at my handiwork. "So now, you guys can take me home, and I can erase it from your memories so you won't come and stalk me when you get your bacon behind kicked again."
"Sounds like a better plan than bringing you to S.T.A.R Labs," Barry replied, knowing my dislike for Dr. Wells.
"Exactly."
I directed Caitlin to the street around the corner from my apartment, in case I couldn't erase their memories properly for some reason. When I got out of the car, I thanked Cisco and Caitlin for the ride back as Bacon Boy had followed me out of the car and onto the dark street.
"I, uh, I never said thanks for getting me out from the warehouse. So thank you," he said, obviously feeling a little awkward about being saved by me.
"Not a problem, Bacon Boy. Thanks for the lift back."
"It's fine. Looks like someone lives in a nice area," he said, looking at the modern apartment buildings.
"You won't remember it, Speedy," I shrugged, smiling sadly at him.
"Come on; you're not going to call me the name you gave me?"
"Golly, you've gotten a little cocky now, haven't you Flash?" I laughed, watching the smirk on his face morph into a grin.
"Well, since my Flash Fanclub has now extended its membership to one person, I guess I can be."
"So, I'm your number one fan?"
"Oh no, I was actually talking about Cisco. He's crazy for us supers." He winked to accompany his sarcasm.
"I guess I'll see you next time, Flash. Don't go stealing all of the baddies for me to beat up, got it?" I said, walking backwards and away from him pointing my finger at him.
"Can't make any promises, Cosmo."
"Time to forget why the hell you're here." 'Hey, forget about it!' I said into all of their heads, feeling the same strange wave flow out to three different places. I ran off into an alleyway, hearing the familiar sound of a car door closing and the engine revving and driving away. I peeked my head around the corner, seeing the red tailgate lights driving off into the distance to be faced with an angry Dr. Wells.
I huffed as I walked back to my apartment, climbing up the guttering since I forgot my keys and couldn't fly up there. I ducked my head to get in the window, closing it behind me as I remembered to get changed and hide my costume before collapsing against the bathroom doorframe and drifting into a deep sleep.
A/N
EMILY AND BARRY SITTING IN A TREE, K-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I
Cisco is the captain of the Bemily ship
Don't forget to vote and comment, thanks!
See you on the dark side,
Charis xo