As soon as I walked into Mum's hospital ward, I knew something was completely off. The nurses and doctors all looked at me pitifully, as if they didn't envy being in my position right now. My head was quiet, which was extremely unusual for Mum since she stayed awake for me when I always came at similar times.
"Oh, Emily? Could I have a word?" Angela, the friendliest of the nurses, asked me as she pulled me into her office before I could reach my mum's room.
"Yes, sure. How can I help?" I replied, a concerning expression sweeping its way across my face.
"We've recently taken some scans of your mother's brain and, well, perhaps you'd like to use your expertise in this field to have a look for yourself," Angela explained, mumbling as she slid her x-rays across to me.
I studied the black and white cranial scans, my eyes going blurry as I tried not to see what I thought I was seeing. "I, uh, are you sure?"
"We've done further testing and it's positive. We've informed your father, and he's let us know that he'll be visiting soon to consult you on his decision."
"I see," I sighed, wiping under my eyes to stop the tears from smudging my makeup.
"We're terribly sorry, Emily."
"I need to go. Thank you, Angela," I trailed off, biting my lip as I turned on my heel and walked out of the door.
I nearly tripped down the long flight of stairs leading to the back entrance to her ward as tears clouded my vision and freely fell from my face as I made no attempt at stopping them. There was no way that I could do my superhero business without her to visit when I felt like nothing was going my way. I knew that when she did pass away that she would join the plethora of others in my head, but it was never the same as seeing her, even if she hadn't smiled at me for seven years.
I decided that my best plan was to give my dad a call, considering I needed some sort moral support and gathered that he would too. Even if he says he's moved on, I know for a fact that he still has feelings invested in my mother, even if they are because she's dying. I didn't feel mad at him anymore for ditching Mum and finding another woman. Since I've been living my life on the edge as of late, I had come to realise that life's too short to be staying mad at people and I felt like it was time to move on from it.
Before I even had a chance to phone my dad's mobile number, his contact picture came on screen in the form of a text, letting me know that he was on the train to Central City and would be arriving late this evening and that he had booked a hotel and that he would try and meet me tomorrow.
I needed to let Barry know what was happening since I had a bad track record for letting him know things like this. It was always hard to tell Barry news like this as I didn't want to burden him with my worries since he was in despair about his dad being kidnapped by the Trickster and his apprentice.
I had calmed down enough to determine myself able to drive as I made my way through the traffic of Central City to go to S.T.A.R Labs.
Peeking my head around the corner of the Cortex, I could see no sign of Barry. Using a little mind mapping, I quickly found him in one of the prison pods just off of the main part of the labs. I rounded the corner to see him sat on the floor looking sorrowfully at the circular doors in front of him.
"Do you think my dad is still alive?" Barry asked as I sat beside him and laid my head on his shoulder as he circled his arm around my waist to pull me closer to him, signalling that he appreciated the comfort.
"I think the Trickster knows your dad is more valuable alive than dead. The biggest mistake I made was thinking he was stupid. There's nothing that we wouldn't do to try and get him back, B," I consoled.
"So, now I'm just supposed to leave my dad's fate in the hands of the man who may have something to do with my mom's murder?" He said, barely above a whisper. His eyes were glossing over as I twisted myself around and sat on his lap, looking him straight in the eye. "I don't think I can do this, Em," he cried.
"Barry, it's not just Wells. I'm here, Caitlin, Cisco and Joe are all doing their best," I said, looking down at our intertwined hands.
"It just doesn't make any sense, I mean if Wells is a murderer. Why does he wanna help me? Why has he helped me stop so many criminals or saved Ronnie? Why didn't I see this?" Barry sobbed.
"Barry, he's practically a psychopath with the amount of manipulation he's gone through to make himself not seem guilty. People who had been working with him for years had no idea. You always try to see the best in people, which I've never been good at. Eve always used to scold me for being sceptical of people's intentions, but I think a little scepticism is healthy. Barry, you have superpowers, don't let Wells take that power from you," I said, breathing out as my empathy powers were heightened from Barry's current level of despair.
"I can't lose my dad, Emily."
"B, you won't, I promise. We're going to do everything we can, okay? God, we, no, I love you so much, Barry," I said as I couldn't bear to see him cry. I couldn't tell him about my mum, not after this. After a few minutes of being in each other's arms, Barry had quietened down, but I needed to get home and get ready since Iris had invited me to some fancy event as an apology for missing our coffee catch up.
"Barry, I need to get home, I'm going out with Iris," I told him as Barry wiped his eyes and shook his head to rid himself of his teary feelings.
"Oh, of course. Do you want a lift? I can drive your car home for you if you want," Barry offered, coughing at first to get rid of the croak in his throat.
"Only if you're quick," I joked, bringing a slight smile to his face.
"Y'know, that joke isn't funny anymore," he muttered, standing up as he put his hands out for me to take as he pulled me up to the same height as him, picking me up a few inches.
Running his fingers through my hair, he converted some of his feelings of pain and loss for his parents to something I couldn't read as I wasn't expecting him to smash his lips into mine as we were whisked out of the labs. Our lips were still locked as I found myself pinned against the wall of my bedroom. I knew he was only using me, using my body, as a distraction from his newfound hatred for Wells and the kidnapping of Henry.
"Barry, I need to get ready," I told him. He groaned in frustration as he backed away from me to allow me to walk over to my wardrobe. He had plonked himself down on my bed, laying on his stomach as he watched me pull out my planned dress.
"When did you buy that?" He asked, looking at the navy crisscrossed cocktail dress.
"It came in the mail the other day and I liked it," I shrugged, gesturing for him to turn around whilst I undressed. Slipping the very tight and revealing dress on, I looked at myself in the mirror as I decided I might need a little body tape since I couldn't wear a bra and those weird plastic covers weren't going to give me much support.
After securing myself, I let him know that he could turn back around. He had been asking me questions about what I was doing since I refused him to watch but had quickly gotten bored and decided to see how many laps of the house he could do while he was waiting
I quickly reapplied my makeup since my tears had smudged and taken off most of it, making sure to keep it classy in order to not look like the party's entertainment for the evening. I quickly used my energy and the mirror to do my hair in a french braid before Barry got bored of running around.
"Goddammit, Barry! If you keep running you'll wear out the carpet!" I yelled as he skidded to a stop before I heard some stamping and quickly smelt a burning smell. "Don't you dare tell me you set the carpet on fire."
"I definitely didn't set the carpet on fire," Barry innocently repeated, knocking on my door before lightly pushing it open. I was in the middle of looping an earring through the hole, though, I hadn't put a pair in since my coma as they had been removed for x-rays and surgeries and were not replaced. Barry walked in before stopping halfway through the door as his eyes scanned me.
"You are not going out dressed like that," I mimicked what he was going to say in my Barry impression before I giggled afterwards at the look on his face.
"You're so beautiful, Em. Thank you for all the stuff you put up with. I know it's not easy being with me because I'm always so busy working or doing Flash stuff, but I couldn't do it not coming home to you every night," Barry gushed, snuggling his head into my shoulder as he hugged me.
"So, you're not mad about the dress?" I asked, kissing his forehead.
"I could never be mad at that dress," he mumbled as we separated as I grabbed a pashmina scarf to wrap around me instead of a coat.
Taking my phone off of the charger, I walked back over to Barry where my navy heels were sat neatly in line with all of my other shoes were. I balanced myself on Barry's shoulder's as I slipped my feet into my heels which thankfully didn't have buckles to do up.
"I'm ready, I think," I confirmed, smoothing down the jumper that Barry was wearing. "Didn't I choose this jumper out for you?"
"You choose all of my clothes, but I like them more than ones I would've picked anyway," Barry shrugged, smiling at me. "I'll drop you around the corner from City Hall, alright?"
"I was about to suggest the same thing," I smiled as he picked up my legs and ran towards City Hall.
"Be safe, ring me if there are any issues and I'll come straight away," Barry began to ramble as I gave him a sweet kiss before walking off. I heard the familiar sound of his lightning running away as I caught a glimpse of Iris just about to walk into the building. I shouted her name as she turned towards me and waved before I did a slight jog to catch up with her.
"I totally forgot you could run in heels," Iris chuckled, remembering when we first met.
"And I forgot how good you look in red, girl," I laughed with her as we walked into the event. "So, what's this event actually for?" I asked, looking at the large group of people wearing very fancy clothing and sparkly jewels. The bouncers looked a little funnily at me, but I sent a few persuasive thoughts into their heads so they didn't doubt my legitimacy for getting into an event like this.
"It's a fundraiser that the Mayor is hosting for his re-elect," Iris explained as I nodded in understanding.
"Champagne, Miss?" A man asked me as his voice sounded eerily familiar. I politely took a glass but decided not to drink any, since I wasn't the biggest fan of the French beverage. I ignored the weird feeling in my gut as I could hear Eve telling me to let it go and just have fun.
After a few minutes, Iris and I had politely spoken to people, with Iris receiving quotes to use for her article. It was nice to catch up with her, though, she told me a strange story about the disappearance of her boss, which I wanted to warn Barry about.
"I'm going to try and talk to the mayor next, I think," Iris nodded as we weaved our way to the front of the party near the stage. While I was bored of the conversations Iris was having with her interviewees, I realised I had drifted away from her slightly until the strange waiter who served me was next to me.
"A fine evening it is, ma'am," the waiter told me as I narrowed my eyes at him slightly as I noted his dodgy attempt at a toupee. "Looks like the show is about to begin," he chuckled to himself as he walked over to one of the other waiters. I instantly recognised the laugh, but I couldn't place where I had heard it as I made a B-line for Iris, who was talking to the mayor.
"Welcome, welcome, Central City's finest. How about a toast to Mayor Anthony Bellows? He doesn't just yell at his staff, he bellows!" The waiter joked. I quickly realised it was James Jesse once he had started talking more. I turned my phone onto my calls list as I hovered my phone over Barry's contact. "You see what I did there with the wordplay? Ugh, tough crowd," the Trickster groaned as he did not receive the reaction he had hoped for.
"Excuse me, who are you?" Mayor Bellows asked, muffling the microphone to not worry his party goers. I could just about make out what they were saying with the hum of people whispering blocking most of the conversation.
It felt like I smashed Barry's dial button as the Trickster's apprentice pulled out what I could describe as a fully loaded machine gun.
"Emily? Hello? What's going on?" Barry's voice sounded out of the phone as the room fell silent and all eyes were on me. Iris quickly looked back and forth between my phone and my face as the Tiny Trickster with the gun pointed it straight at the back of my neck as I was pulled onto the stage.
"Ah yes, now I remember you. You were one of my first visits in years. What was your name again?" James Jesse said, his finger tapping on his chin as his face showed mischief and amusement. "Ah, Emily Stone. A nice name for a nice girl. Such a pity you're not going to live for much longer," the Trickster taunted as his sidekick tightened his grip on my throat.
"Some of the prisoners at Iron Heights certainly said a lot about you, my dear. Matthieu certainly wants to see you six feet under, so maybe I'll just do the job for him," Jesse laughed as I could feel my blood almost run cold at the sound of my mother's attacker's name.
After waiting a few seconds, I could feel the sidekick's grip on the gun loosen as I took this as my window of opportunity for getting free. I quickly mapped out where he was in relation to me as I thrust my right elbow back to jab him in the stomach before I spun around and punched his jaw. His hands flew up to cradle his face as I caught the heavy gun which he had thrown as a primary response from his injury. Before I could send another punch to Sidekick Axel, Jesse had pointed his revolver at my head, drawing my attention away from the other guy.
I felt a slight tug on my leg before it was ripped out from beneath me and I was thrown to the ground, the gun sliding back into the arms of Axel. My head had taken most of the hit as it's weight had increased the momentum of my fall. My vision was hazy as I perched myself up on my elbow, shaking my head as I tried to get rid of my funky vision.
"You were the one who saved those kids from the bombings?" A lady shouted out to me from the audience as I glanced down to the huge rip in my dress which was long enough to nicely cover my burns. Great, as if they needed another reason to want to kill me.
Axel hadn't bothered to attack me more, instead, he chose to leave me on the floor near the corner of the stage with his gun back in his possession. I glanced to the side to see Iris standing strong as if she were trying to cheer me on without saying anything. I gave her a slight nod before I heard a shot ring out as I rolled to the right to avoid it.
Just as I thought that at least this would be a semi-heroic way to die, I could hear the sound of Barry running into the building, but the bullet was too close to me by the time he had gotten to me. The gunmetal bullet skimmed my hipbone and lodged itself into the side of my back as I had rolled as I screeched out in pain, balling my hands into fists as I couldn't risk exposing my identity by using my powers to remove the ammunition stuck in my side.
I was crying in pain as the crowd began to scream, but I could hear Iris hysterically shouting my name through the crowd. Barry rolled me over as he pushed my hair out of my face as if he couldn't believe that it was really me who he had failed to save.
"Save your dad," I whispered as my breathing began to feel more laboured as more blood was pouring out of me. "There are more people here who need saving, not just me," I told him, louder this time. I was going to stand up to that twisted Trickster if it was one of the last things I did.
Everything was a little blurry afterwards, all I had really grasped from Barry and James Jesse's conversation was that some bomb had been attached to him and he had run out of the building and left us alone with two armed psychopaths. I finally managed to sit up on the stage in an attempt to stay conscious since my head was feeling extremely dizzy from the blood loss. I had been trying not to focus on the pain and the pints of blood that seemed to be pouring out from me every time I breathed.
As the police busted the doors open, Jesse and Axel made an attempt to escape, but I mustered the final piece of energy I had left to shimmy my body over to the right as I kicked my leg out to trip the two up as Eddie and Joe with a few other officers came to cuff them.
My attempt at staying conscious was becoming harder and harder as I could see how saturated my dress was with blood now. I could hear Iris batting Eddie away from her as she tried to divert his attention to me as I could hear her heels clicking over towards me.
"Iris, you need to get me to S.T.A.R Labs. Joe can take me. The hospital will be overrun with all of these people to check that the poison is out of their system," I explained through my breathlessness.
"Oh my God, Emily. I thought you were going to die, and then the Flash didn't even get you help I just can't believe it. God, what's Barry going to think? He's never going to let you out of his sights again, especially because of the burns on your leg as well," Iris panicked as I tried not to roll my eyes at her.
"Iris," I said, holding her shoulders as I saw black spots in my vision. "Your dad, S.T.A.R. Labs, now."
"Oh my God, okay," she repeated, trying to calm herself down as she called Joe over as they both helped me up. I screamed in pain as my back was twisted at an awkward angle. I couldn't help as the tears leapt over my bottom lash line as my emotions were coming out of me through tears. Other officers were called in to help carry me to Joe's car.
"Lie her down on the back seat," Joe instructed his officers as I couldn't really feel anything after that. My eyes had shut and remained shut, those, opened occasionally as I saw the bokeh blur of traffic lights and street lamps as I drifted in and out of consciousness.
Even though I was unconscious, I heard more voices. It was like I was back in the Cosmos but not quite there. I could hear the authoritative voice of the woman I had encountered the other day when I was taken there.
"See, I told you she would figure out how to project her astral form by herself," the woman snapped as if she was scolding someone before it started to fade away as my eyes opened to the hazy image of a woman with a surgical mask on over the top of me before I finally faded out into the darkness.
A/N
This is probably one of my favourite chapters I've written :)
Bemily are so cute I cry
-10 points to Emily for getting shot
See you on the dark side,
Charis xo