"Emily?" A voice called out as I felt a hand being laid on my shoulder. My eyes flung open as my instincts took over and I grabbed their wrist and forcefully pushed it, jumping out of bed and bending their arm behind their back, sending them to the floor and I landed on top of them.
"What the fuck, Em?" The voice cried as I shook my head, my eyes adjusting to the brightness of the room as I saw myself on top of Barry's back with his arm pulled around and secured behind him.
"Oh my God, Barry! I'm so sorry I don't know what came over me," I gasped as I got off of him and helped him up from the floor as he clutched his arm in pain.
"How the hell did you do that?" Barry asked, rubbing his arm.
"Brendan taught me," I admitted rather sheepishly.
"I got that but how was it physically possible? You're like, super strong."
"I've been doing a little weight training; that's all," I tried to brush off his thoughts as I felt his stare on me.
"A little? I think you've broken my arm," he exclaimed after having looked at his arm.
"We better get Caitlin to have a look," I muttered, looking at his forearm as it had gone very red and slightly swollen.
"That's if she's still alive today," Barry chuckled lightly.
"Poor girl."
"How's your head?" He asked.
"Oh, I feel completely fine," I smiled.
"Really? That's surprising since you had more drinks after your tequilas."
"Barry you forget that I'm as hard as a rock," I said, flexing my arm muscles. "Get it, because my last name is Stone?"
"That was really bad," Barry chuckled, shaking his head at me.
"You wish," I grinned as I wandered over to my wardrobe. "Have we got any news on Shawna and Clay?"
"I haven't heard anything so I'll come with you to the labs this morning."
"Well, that's a good way to tell me to wear trousers," I said, tilting my head.
"Pants," Barry mouthed at me as he walked backwards out of my room as I closed the door in his face.
I picked out a fairly casual outfit of a loose grey cotton shirt, black skinny jeans and some heeled boots which seemed a little dark compared to my normal choices. I put on my usual makeup since I looked a mess after last night and headed out of my room to finish getting ready.
"Ready?" Barry asked as I got downstairs.
"Yeah. Are you sure you can carry me with your arm like that?" I asked before he picked me up and pretended to weigh me.
"I'll be fine," Barry assured as he ran us both out of the door to S.T.A.R Labs.
When we arrived, we realised that Caitlin wasn't in yet, probably due to her intense hangover.
"You look different," Cisco commented as I walked into the Cortex as Barry had put me down before we got into the elevator.
"A good different?"
"Duh," he replied, rolling his eyes.
"So, do we have any updates on our teleporter?" I asked.
"No, not yet. I was hoping that you would take a look at the sample of DNA we received and run some tests on it," Dr. Wells said as he wheeled in from his office.
"Okay, I'll get on that right away," I replied as I gave Cisco a smile before walking to my lab.
I got to work straight away on analysing the slide of cells Wells had given me. If I were a teleporter, what would my weakness be? I remembered back to when I fought Shawna and how she never teleported any great distances, only a couple of feet each time.
I ran a few tests before making any kind of breakthrough. It turns out that Shawna can only teleport as few as she can see, meaning that her powers can't work in the dark. I put my results on a USB stick and walked out of my office, excited to show everyone my findings.
On my way out, I saw Caitlin coming out of the elevator with a very dark pair of sunglasses on and Barry standing next to her.
"Hi," Barry greeted as Caitlin flinched.
"So loud," Caitlin groaned as I burst into laughter, slapping my hand over my mouth to muffle the giggles.
"Oh ho ho ho. I just wanted to make sure that you're okay," Barry replied, laughing with me.
"Let's just say that I envy your inability to get drunk. I don't remember much from last night."
"Neither do I, to be honest," I lied, seeing Caitlin give me a strange look.
"Oh, I can show you if you want," Barry said as he pulled out his phone and found a video he took of me singing Anaconda last night.
"Oh my God. Burn that," I cringed, watching my awful drunken acting. I pulled out my own phone and as revenge started playing their Summer Lovin' duet which I had recorded.
"Oh, that I do remember," Caitlin shuddered as I walked back into the Cortex to see Cisco and Dr. Wells's reaction to a hungover Caitlin.
Instead, Dr. Wells was glaring at Cisco, who looked extremely guilty.
"What's wrong?" Barry asked as we all looked at the two scientists.
"Cisco has something he needs to tell you," Dr. Wells said, giving him a serving of side-eye.
"Hartley's gone," Cisco breathed out, looking away from us all.
"He escaped from the pipeline? How's that even possible?" Barry asked a frown set firmly on his face.
"I let him out," Cisco admitted, ignoring the glares from Dr. Wells and Barry.
"You did?" I said, rather too enthusiastically for everyone's liking.
"Are you mad? I can't tell with those glasses on," Cisco asked Caitlin, who had her arms crossed.
"I'd like to yell and wave my arms, but I'm afraid I'd throw up," Caitlin replied, staring at Cisco.
Cisco explained his reasons for letting Hartley out in exchange for information about Ronnie. I was quite pleased that Hartley had figured out a way to get himself free, rather than me getting my head chopped off for helping him escape.
"Are we any further on catching Shawna?" Barry asked, trying to swerve the conversation from Hartley.
"Yes, actually," I smiled as I walked over to the computers, leaning over the desk as I plugged in my stick and got up the results of the tests. "If you look at the particles now, they're showing Shawna's ability to teleport. But, if you take away the light source..." I began, clicking the computer mouse as the screen changed and the cells stopped vibrating.
"She can't teleport in the dark," Cisco concluded, lifting his head up as the concept clicked in his mind. Barry's phone started ringing as Caitlin started to think of ways to get Shawna in the dark in order to bring her in.
"Helloo? What? Yeah, I'll be right there, all right?" Barry said as he paled before hanging up.
"What's up?" I asked, looking at his worried expression which matched my own.
"My dad, he's been stabbed," he stuttered in disbelief, his eyes flickering between his phone screen and his friends.
"What are you waiting for? Go!" I exclaimed in a slightly panicked voice as he gave me a nod and ran out of the lab.
"Any idea of how this could have happened?" Cisco asked me since I had been at the prison with Barry.
"When Barry and I were at Iron Heights, I overheard Henry say that he would do a little digging for the case, but Barry warned him not to since he would indefinitely get into trouble. Playing detective in a prison isn't exactly a way to ensure your safety," I explained.
"I see. Anyway, we should continue our search to find our metahuman," Dr. Wells concluded.
"Emily, do you want to help me out with something?" Cisco asked me.
"Sure thing, Cisco," I smiled as I followed him out to his lab.
"Okay, so I've been tinkering around with your new mask," Cisco began as walked behind his desk and started to search through his crates of 'work'.
"Can I try it on?" I asked as he pulled out a purple piece of plastic in triumph.
"Yeah, we'll see if it needs any adjustments," he replied, trying to act casual.
"Okay, so how does this work?" I queried, looking through the clear lenses to a smirking Cisco.
"It'll pick up brain waves so you only have to think what you want it to do, and it'll do it."
"So it'll only work for me then?"
"That's the idea," Cisco said as I put the mask on my face, and told it to turn on with my thoughts.
I heard a click as the screen was brought to life. It reminded me of the display from the Iron Man films where it had my vitals on one side, a small map on the bottom left corner and what looked like a targeting system in the centre.
"What can it do?"
"It's linked up to the police radio, so it'll display any disturbances on the map so you'll know where to fly to. It'll also show your speed and altitude when you're in flight, and it has an earpiece built into our frequency so we can talk to you but it won't track where you are once it's turned off. It has a targeting system, but you can turn it off," Cisco explained as I grinned, swirling around on a wheelie office chair to see how my mask would react.
"God, what can't this thing do?"
"It doesn't have a built-in AI system, but you've probably got enough voices in your head to keep you company."
"Ah Cisco, this is so brilliant!" I exclaimed, wandering around his workshop just to see the little arrow on the map move a few millimetres.
"And you might want to take it off unless you want to be caught with it on."
"Oh, right," I mumbled, sheepishly removing the mask as I gave it back to Cisco. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, Barry thinks I've broken his arm."
"What?" Cisco gasped, dropping a wrench on his desk in surprise.
"He was waking me up this morning and ever since the whole kidnapped by Captain Cold thing; I've been really wary so I accidentally attacked him when he shook me awake."
"Eh, I'm sure it'll heal," Cisco flapped with his arm, dismissing my action.
"But now he thinks I'm trying to be a bodybuilder or something." Cisco burst out laughing, clutching his stomach as he leant on his workbench.
"Oh ho, you really know how to get yourself in a hole, don't you?"
"Life's boring if you don't, right?"
"I don't think your life will ever be boring," he muttered.
"Boring and normal do not mean the same thing."
"Aren't you meant to be meeting that architect tonight?" Cisco enquired, his head tilting slightly.
"Oh shit! I've got to go. Cover for me?" I pled.
"Yeah, of course, get going." He said, ushering me out.
"Fuck, I'm going to have to fly there," I muttered, running my fingers through my hair in stress.
"I'll keep Wells occupied for a bit, all right?"
"I owe you one, Cisco," I sighed as he gave me a fist bump before I slunk off to my office to pick my belongings and snuck out of the labs.
I looked around the outside of the labs to find a blind spot in the security cameras before jetting off to Jitters. I was thankful that there was a roof which was fairly secluded and that I could land on safely before trying to straighten out my hair as I levitated down to the ground into an alleyway.
I tried to walk out of the alleyway as naturally as I could before entering Jitters and seeing a man in a sharp, navy shirt with his sleeves rolled up. He had a pencil balanced between his fingers, and his lips pursed as if he were in intense concentration over the plans that were set out on the table.
"Hi, it's James, right?" I asked, peering at him with a friendly smile on my face.
"Yes, it is. And you're Miss Stone, correct?" He replied. I was slightly shocked when he lifted his head up to me, showing me his face.
I tried not to gawk at his chiselled jawline which was peppered with stubble, his aquamarine blue eyes which were lightened from his dark shirt. Dark brown tousled waves finished his look as he quickly ran his fingers through his hair before shaking my petite hand compared to his large.
"Jesus fucking Christ. Wait, I probably shouldn't say that in Heaven, should I? Eh, who cares because with a face and body like that I'm sinning tonight."
"Can you not, Eve?"
"It's Doctor but yes, that's me. I'm sorry I'm late, I had to run something past my boss, and we lost track of time," I rambled, smiling at him.
"No worries. So, obviously, we've spoken on the phone about what kind of things you wanted to include and I've drafted up some plans for you to look at," James explained, turning the piece of paper around so that I could read it.
"What happened to the balcony?" I asked, trying not to seem cranky.
"Building regulations won't let you have it," James replied, smiling weakly at me.
"Great," I huffed.
"We could try putting in a roof access point instead if you wanted an outdoor space," James proposed, tilting his head as he tried to find a way for it to fit.
"Like a rooftop garden?" I suggested.
"Yes, but that would mean sacrificing something else." He seemed to like my idea, from what his head was telling me.
"Like?" I asked.
"Your walk-in wardrobe," he told me, raising an eyebrow at me.
"I'll survive." I shrugged, sighing a little.
"Okay, I'll draw up some new plans for you," James said, clicking his pen.
"Thank you so much," I gushed, giving him a full smile.
"So, may I ask why your entire apartment is being rebuilt?" He asked, leaning back in his chair.
"There was a fire. I have no idea how it happened and the fire department ruled it as unexplainable," I explained, smiling at him.
"Well, that's certainly interesting."
"Quite."
"And you're British?"
"Yeah, my family emigrated fifteen years ago, when I was ten," I replied, taking a sip of the tea that I had ordered.
"So, I noticed that you've got three bedrooms in your apartment. Are they all just for you?"
"Yeah, I plan to use one as a study for my research and the other is just a spare room for visitors," I shrugged, not really thinking too much of his questions.
"What kind of visitors?"
"Just friends. I don't see my family a lot."
"How come?"
"My dad lives in National City; my mother lives in a hospital, and my sister lives six feet under," I replied, a blank look on my face as I took another sip of my tea.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," he offered his apologies, giving me a sympathetic frown.
"Don't worry about it. Accidents happen."
Just as James and I were getting to know each other a little better, my phone (which was on silent) had erupted in calls and messages from Cisco, calling for me to get back to S.T.A.R Labs or to suit up.
I excused myself from our meeting and hurried out of the coffee shop, before figuring out that it was rush hour, meaning that I couldn't just fly out of here since there were hundreds of people about. That meant that I would have to try and make my way across the entire city on public transport.
By the time I had reached S.T.A.R Labs, Barry had already caught Shawna, or as Caitlin had named her, Peekaboo.
"Cisco Ramon you better have a brilliant reason for tearing me away from my meeting with James," I growled at him, wiping the small beads of sweat from my forehead.
"Well, I kinda thought that you would have gotten here a lot sooner," Cisco sheepishly stuttered.
"I had to get two buses and run nearly half a mile, in heels, since I couldn't just fly away during rush hour," I muttered, giving him a glare.
"You look like you've just run a marathon," Caitlin commented as she sat at her computer.
"That's the beauty of public transport on a hot, Friday night. And, there isn't even anything for me to do! You have no idea how tired I am now. A hobo was trying to chat me up on the metro; I fell up the stairs coming out, and there was a screaming baby on the bus. I just want to crawl into bed and die."
"Well, I'm pretty sure I'm the fastest way you're going to get there," Barry smiled, wrapping his good arm around my waist.
"And I will happily oblige with that. How's your arm?" I asked.
"What happened to his arm?" Caitlin questioned as she lifted his arm up and started probing it.
"Well, you see, I kinda kung-fu bent it around his back," I nervously chuckled.
"And you did that because?" She asked, raising an eyebrow sceptically.
"I thought I was being attacked or something."
"Remind me never to wake you up, ever again," Barry shook his head with a smile on his face.
"I think you'll know not to by yourself," I laughed.
"Yeah, that's true."
"Come on, Mister 'I just caught a villain'," I teased, wanting to get home.
"But I did just catch a villain. By myself. Oh, Cisco, did you call Annie?" Barry asked, looking a little disappointed.
"Yeah, it went to voicemail." He said, looking awkwardly at me.
"That's weird. It never usually goes to voicemail."
"Maybe she has a life outside of running around playing hero?" I frowned, placing my hand on my hip.
"You haven't met her before, have you?" Barry asked.
"Uh, no, I don't think so," I cleared my throat as I awkwardly looked at Cisco and Caitlin.
"Oh, I'll introduce you when she's around next," he smiled.
"Yeah. sure. That would be great," I said, faking a smile in response.
"Right, if you guys don't need us for anything else, we'll be off."
"Have a good night!" They called out as I felt my legs being ripped from the floor as I was suddenly whisked away from the labs.
A/N
James is played by Sebastian Stan rip
I don't think Eve gets the idea of being good in heaven but yolo, even if she's already dead lmao
School is a nightmare but I'm going to keep updating as regularly as I can (weekly)
See you on the dark side,
Charis xo