I got back to STAR Labs, and saw Dr. Wells and Caitlin looking at me. Cisco was in the training room. Barry was with him.
"Are you going to disappear on us again?" Caitlin asked.
"No." I promised. I realized that I was here a few weeks ago.
"Anna?" Caitlin asked, standing in the doorway of the right lab, leading to the training room.
"Anna's back?" Cisco yelled from the training room.
"How long was I gone?" I asked, scratching my neck.
"Three days." Caitlin said, an angry scowl on her face.
"Sorry." I apologized.
Cisco and Barry came into the Cortex from the training room, and Wells wheeled in from the hallway.
"Ah. Ms. Dumas. Glad to have you back." Wells said.
"So... Is there a new meta?" I asked, coming back from my mind.
"There is. This new metahuman is forcing people into comas." Cisco said as he and Barry walked into the Cortex.
"How many people are in comas right now?" I asked.
"One. Amont Derbun." Caitlin said.
"But over the past 10 months, 17 people have died from mysterious comas. We think this meta has been killing for a long time." Barry said.
"Do we have a plan?" I asked.
Everyone avoided eye contact with me. They were keeping something from me.
"We have to wait." Barry said.
"Wait? If we wait, then that man dies." I said, not liking their plan.
"We can't help him. We have to catch the metahuman before he takes another person." Dr. Wells said.
"No -." I tried to argue, but Barry interrupted me.
"Anna, we can't help that man. This meta takes control of the other person's mind and doesn't let them go until they die." Barry explained.
"We can't do anything to help him. I want to help him, I really do. But we're too late. The next best thing we can do is save the next victim." Caitlin said.
I kept quiet, accepting what the team was telling me. Dr. Wells looked at me, waiting for me to acknowledge that I understood that I couldn't do anything to help that man.
I nodded at him. He nodded once.
"Let's go see what Joe's found." Barry suggested to me.
I agreed, and followed him to the CCPD. Joe was at his desk, with Eddie. I was kind of bummed that I couldn't help that man.
"Hey, find anything?" Barry asked Joe.
"Amont Derbun died twenty minutes ago. The killer dropped his body off at the morgue. Security footage caught a glimpse of the guy's face." Joe explained, handing Barry a photograph of the meta.
Someone was smiling up at the camera with bright glowing blue eyes. Their eyes were so bright that the camera couldn't pick up any of their other features.
"We'll find him Joe." Barry promised. I nodded.
Barry and I went out later that night, patrolling the streets of Central City.
Barry called it a night, after we got nothing. I went back to STAR Labs to get some rest. Time traveling from Central City to Starling City took a lot out of a girl.
I walked through the Cortex, and into the training lab. I put my suit away, and changed into a pair of black leggings, a dark green tank top, and shin high black socks. I went down to the lounge on C level. I ate some leftover mac n cheese, and then crashed on the couch.
I woke up a few hours later, and went up to the Cortex. No one was in yet, which I found to be strange. I tidied up a bit around the Cortex, the med lab and the training room.
As I was stacking papers, and walking into the Cortex, I didn't see the woman in front of me. She scared the hell out of me.
"Boo." she said, causing me to jump.
"Casper?" I asked, joking, but also concerned about how someone got into STAR Labs. Sure security wasn't tight, but no one should be able to just walk in here.
"I've been looking everywhere for you Anomaly." Said the woman in a rough voice.
I looked towards the hallway, hoping that someone would come in and help me with this woman.
The woman had long braided black hair with pale blue streaks running through it. Her eyes matched her hair, and her dark skin glowed with a blue sheen to it. This woman had a dark trench coat that covered her entire body. She looked like a goddess.
"I don't know who Anomaly is." I lied, clutching the papers I carried to my chest.
"Wrong answer, Anomaly. When I come from, we're enemies." She replied, stepping towards me.
"When you come from?... How did you get in here?" I asked.
"I've been looking all over for you, Anomaly." She said, reaching out towards me.
"All over." She repeated as she gripped my forearm.
Pain sizzled up my arm, and through out my entire body. I yelped in pain. I dropped my papers, and fell to the floor. She let go of my arm, and crouched down over my head.
"You deserve to burn in hell. You've ruined so many lives." She muttered.
"Ah! Stop!" I gasped, trying to block out the pain.
"Have fun in hell, Anna." She cackled, as I slipped away from reality. She passed out on the floor next to me.
I heard Cisco and Caitlin walk into the Cortex a little while later. Cisco dropped whatever he was carrying, and rushed to my side.
"Stop!" Caitlin yelled.
"What? It's Anna!" Cisco exclaimed, clearly distressed and trying to help me.
"That's the meta we're looking for." Caitlin said.
"Caitlin, Anna's gonna die." Cisco said, breathing hard.
"No she won't. We're going to figure this out." Cait promised.
Caitlin and Cisco got the metahuman onto a hospital bed, then did the same for me. Cisco called Barry, and told him what happened. Dr. Wells was just rolling in, when Cisco hung up.
"What happened?" Dr Wells asked as he wheeled to my side.
"The meta got her." Caitlin said.
Dr. Wells stroked my face, and breathed hard.
"I'm already running every test on both of them. Anna's a strong fighter. She'll make it." Caitlin said.
"You better hope so." Dr. Wells growled.
I slipped into a dream.
I was blinded by a bright yellow light. When my eyes finally adjusted, I took in my surroundings. I was back in 2156. I was outside my best friend's home. It was nighttime. There was a bright street lamp above me. I looked to my left, and saw him. My best friend was smiling at me. I realized that this was a memory, and not a dream. That fact made me feel safer.
"Anna, can I ask you a question?" he asked.
"Sure." I replied, going with the memory.
"Anna, ever since I met you, since I could walk, I have fallen in love with you. I want to spend every hour, every minute with you. Anna, will you marry me?" he asked, getting down on his knee.
I knew what I wanted to say. I wanted to say yes, but something was stopping me. My best friend could see that I wasn't going to answer him. He stood up, and gripped my arms tightly.
"Anna. Anna please." He begged, needing an answer.
"I love you." He said, before a streak of yellow lightening zapped me away.
I was inside the Cortex now.
"That was so sweet." The meta said sarcastically. I spun around and saw her leaning against the wall inside the Cortex.
"Maybe if you answered him, you'd be in a different spot than you are now." The meta said.
"If I had said yes, I would have thrown my life away." I said.
"Oh what a shame." Said the meta with sarcasm lacing her words.
"Ha- ha- ha." I retorted in a mocking manner.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"Ugh! Always with the same boring questions. What is this place? Who are you? Why am I here? What do you want from me?" she recited, bored out of her mind, literally she was inside mine.
"I'll sum it up for you Anna." Began the meta as she waltzed around the Cortex as if she owned the place.
"I'm Sleeping Beauty, I come from a realm that you can't comprehend. We're enemies in your future. You stumble into my world on accident. I'm here to wipe you out." Sleeping Beauty said with a yawn.
"We're trapped inside your mind. I'm going to slowly absorb all of your knowledge and kill you once I get what I need." Sleeping Beauty said.
"I will stop you." I growled at her.
"HA! Good luck." Sleeping Beauty cackled.
"Many have tried, but no one has beaten me." She said.
"I will." I said, determined.
Sleeping Beauty snapped her fingers, and a watch appeared on my wrist.
"You have 12 hours remaining, until I get everything I need. Go live out all of your happy memories while you still have time. I'll see you later Anomaly." Sleeping Beauty said, before she vanished.
I looked all around the Cortex, looking for her, but she was gone. I tried to keep my cool as I looked around the room. I took deep breaths, and tried not to panic. I sat down in the middle of the Cortex and focus on my physical body. I needed to get Cisco a message.
I listened for what they were doing. Caitlin was standing off to my right, fiddling with vials and needles, most likely to draw my blood. Dr. Wells was next to my other side. He was holding my hand. Cisco was holding onto my feet, worrying about me. I focused on wiggling my toes. I tried and tried to move them, but nothing happened. I was about to give it a rest, when my right foot curled.
"Anna!?" Cisco jumped when he felt me move.
I flexed my toes, letting him know I could hear him.
"Caitlin! Anna can hear us." Cisco exclaimed.
"Anna, Anna? Are you alright?" Cait asked, leaning over me.
I moved my big toe twice, letting Cisco know that I was okay.
"She's okay." Cisco relayed my message.
"Fight her Anna, we can't lose you." Cisco said.
I moved my toe twice, telling him I would. I felt my body seize up, and I felt Cisco's grip tighten on my feet.
"Anna? What's going on? Are you okay?" Dr. Wells asked.
I tapped my foot once, telling Cisco I was not okay.
A bright yellow light blinded me, and then I was replaying another memory.
"Anna!?" called my adoptive mother, Mary Parker, from down the stairs. I looked around my old bedroom, and tried to remember when this memory was. It was June 1999.I had been in 1999 for 2 months now, I had just turned 10 a month ago. I sat up off my bed and walked towards the staircase. Mary was standing at the foot of the stairs, smiling up at me.
"Hi sweetheart, dinner's ready." Mary said.
"I'll be right down, Mom." I said as I looked down at her.
Mary smiled and walked back into the kitchen. I watched as she left, then I slowly turned back to my room. I walked inside the room again and took in the memories of the place.
The yellow walls were even brighter with the sunlight pouring in on them. The white furniture made my room feel elegant and mature. I looked over at my wall. There were dozens of photographs of our little family, and my friends from school. Mary and Richard were kind enough to get me a camera, so I could document my life with them. They truly cared and loved me.
I spun around my room, looking at all my belongings once more, before going downstairs. I knew what was coming next, and truthfully I had mixed emotions about the whole thing.
I padded down the stairs, through the living room, and into the kitchen. Richard, adoptive father had just walked through the back door, after a long day at work. Even to this day, I had no idea what he did. He kissed Mary on the cheek and then came and kissed my head.
"Hi honey. How was your day at work?" Mary asked as she placed dinner on the table. Richard, Mary and I sat down, and settled in.
"It was great, how was everything here?" He asked, placing a napkin on his lap.
"Everything was fine. Anna had a fun day at school, she met Oliver Queen and Laurel Lance." Mary replied.
We said grace, and then dug in. After dinner, Richard and Mary said they needed to tell me something. So after we cleared the table, I sat down and waited for them to tell me the news they wanted to share.
"Anna, is the house lonely?" Richard asked.
"Lonely?" I asked.
"Do you wish you had someone to play with?" Richard asked.
"I have friends from school." I stated, thinking of Ollie and Laurel.
"Well, yes. Friends are an important aspect of a person's life. I mean would you like any siblings?" Richard asked as he looked over at Mary and held her hand.
"Siblings?" I asked, kind of excited.
"Mm-hmm." Mary smiled.
"I'm going to be a big sister?" I questioned.
"In about 6 months you'll have a baby brother." Mary said.
I remained quiet, but a shit-eating grin covered my face.
"That's amazing!" I exclaimed.
Richard and Mary relaxed, and smiled with me. I could tell now, that they were very nervous to tell me.
"Does he have a name? Where's he going to sleep?" I heard myself asking.
"We were thinking Peter." Mary smiled.
"Do I get to hold him?" I questioned.
"Slow down kiddo." Richard chuckled, ruffling my hair.
"We have all the time in the world. Don't worry, he's not going anywhere." Richard promised me. I glanced down at my watch and saw I had 10 hours remaining.
A bright yellow light blinded me, and when it cleared, I was in our car. I knew what this memory was. It was the night that Mary and Richard would leave me in Central City. We had been driving for a few days, traveling to Central City. I had fallen asleep on the 4th night of driving.
I woke up on the side of the road. It was dark outside and there was a street lamp humming above me. I was scared and alone. I started to cry, and hyperventilate. I started walking down the dark road, trying to find anyone who could help me. An hour later, I stopped walking. I sat down and cried. Hours passed by, and finally a police car pulled up.
Joe got out of his cruiser and clicked his flashlight on. He shined it over me, trying to assess this situation.
"Hey sweet pea. What are you doing way out here?" he asked as he approached me.
I was a crying mess as he got closer to me.
"I can't find my mom and dad." I sobbed. Joe took off his coat, and wrapped it around me.
"It's okay sweet pea. My name is Detective West. Let's see if we can find your mommy and daddy." Joe offered. He crouched down and offered me his hand. I gently grabbed it, and followed him to his cruiser.
The drive to the Central City Police Department took about twenty minutes. Joe let me sit at his desk, and gave me a coloring book. In the past, I knew that I was busy coloring away, but here in my mind, I sat watching Joe as he called around, trying to find my parents. After multiple phone calls that lead nowhere, Joe called it a night. He brought me to his place, and let me sleep in the guest bedroom. He lent me his daughter's favorite blanket, which upset her greatly. That night, I stared out the window, wondering why Mary and Richard left me.
I closed my eyes for a few moments, and when I opened them, I was somewhere else. I glanced down at my watch and saw that I had 8 hours left.
I tried to feel my way around my physical body. Cisco still had his hands on my feet. I tapped my toes 8 times, letting Cisco know that I had 8 hours left.
"8?" Cisco asked.
I tapped twice with my other foot.
"Eight what?" Caitlin asked from my left.
"8 people? 8 tacos? 8 million reasons Dr. Wells will kill us all if you don't wake up?" Cisco rambled a bit.
"Cisco, we have to think positively." Caitlin reminded him.
"Okay. Okay. Okay." Cisco repeated.
"Eight million reasons Dr. Wells will find a way to kill us quickly if you don't wake up." Cisco tried again.
"Alright Anna. Eight what? People?" Cait asked. I tapped my foot once for no.
"Challenges?" Cait asked. I tapped no.
"Questions?" Cisco questioned. Another no.
"Hours?" Caitlin asked. I tapped twice for yes.
"Yes? Eight hours?" Cisco asked.
"You have eight hours left." Cisco said after a second of silence.
"We better work faster." Barry said from my left. He sounded like he was next to Caitlin.
I tapped my foot three times, then replayed another memory.
2005. God I hated this year. High school was mildly hard. I excelled in all of my classes, but with brains comes bullying. One particular day was harder than the rest.
It was the 5th anniversary of Mary and Richard leaving me, and a lot of the kids in school knew it. The entire school day, I hung around Barry and Iris, just trying to get through the day. After school, before Joe came to pick us up, I was walking towards the front of the building, from my locker, when a popular girl and her gang cornered me in the hallway.
Her name was Heather Harkin, and she tried to be my personal bully. But in 11th grade, I socked her in the nose, which caused her to steer clear of me from that day on.
I watched as Heather and her gang walked up to me.
"Sup freak?" Heather asked, her southern accent hitting my ears.
"Hi Heather." I acknowledged her.
"Where you runnin' to?" she asked, cocking her hip.
"Just heading home." I replied.
"Mmmm... off to hang with your freakish foster parents." Juliana, one of Heather's followers teased me.
"Heather, please." I sighed. In the past, I was pleading for Heather to leave me alone, but now in this memory, I was fed up.
"Are these the girls you feared as a teenager?" Sleeping Beauty asked as she walked up behind me. I looked at her over my shoulder.
"That's pathetic. You should have crushed them like bugs." Sleeping Beauty sneered.
"What is it that you want from me?" I asked, ignoring Heather and her group of friends.
"You ruined my life. It's only fair that I do the same for you." Sleeping Beauty said.
I glanced back to where Heather and her friends were; they were no longer there. However we remained inside the school hallway.
"Look, I'm sorry for what I've done to you." I apologized.
"Sorry is not going to fix what you've broken." Sleeping Beauty snapped. I spun my body so I was fully facing her.
"I haven't even met you. Why are you so hell-bent on destroying my life?" I snapped at her, tired of wasting time.
"It doesn't matter. You'll be dead in a few hours anyway." Sleeping Beauty dismissed me. I looked down at my watch. I had 4 hours left. She began walking away from me, and towards the front of the high school.
"Hey!" I snapped angrily at her as she walked away. I moved so that I was right in front of her.
Sleeping Beauty seemed surprised that I could use my powers in my own mind.
"What did I do to you?" I asked staring into her eyes.
"Everything." She said in a serious voice.
"Anna come on!" yelled Barry. I spun around, trying to face Barry. The scene in front of me changed drastically.
I was 22, and working at the CCPD now. Barry and I had gone to our first day of work together, and now we were going to Jitters to celebrate. Iris hooked us up with hot chocolates. While she was on her break, Iris came and sat with us.
"How was your first day at work?" she asked Barry and I.
"Being a CSI is so cool." Barry said, his inner geek coming out.
"How about you Anna?" Iris asked.
"I'm not in the mood Iris." I snapped.
"That's great! Is it weird going to be working with my Dad?" Iris asked us both.
"What? No, Joe's like a second dad to me. It'll be fun." Barry said.
I glanced at my watch and noticed that I had 2 hours left. I was beginning to worry. What if Barry, Cisco, and Cait couldn't save me?
"Anna." Barry said.
"Are you okay?" Iris asked.
"Shut up!" I said, thinking about Sleeping Beauty, and the short time I had left.
"Tick Tock Anomaly." Sleeping Beauty's voice echoed through Jitters.
I jumped out of my seat and ran out of Jitters. The main door to Jitters, lead to a long dark hallway, with hundreds of doors lining the walls.
I felt like I was inside a creepy horror movie.
I began walking down the hallway, checking every door as I walked by. I could open a few of them, all of them leading to different memories that I had stored away. The more I walked down the hallway, the longer it got.
I looked down at my watch and saw that I had 1 hour left, until I died. I began sprinting down the hallway, looking for anything that could help me defeat Sleeping Beauty.
I stopped at a door that was glowing a bright blue color. I jumped inside and looked around. I was inside a bar, that I didn't recognize. I noticed a few of Central City's most wanted sat around the place.
Sleeping Beauty was standing in front of a booth, mumbling to herself. She had a faint blue glow surrounding her. I marched up to her, and prayed to every being that my training with Oliver and Cisco had been for a reason. I roughly grabbed her shoulder, shaking her from her spell. My fist collided with her face, and I heard a small crack from her nose.
"Nice job Anomaly." Sleeping Beauty said.
"You will not take my life from me." I snapped at her.
"You're life? Honey it's already mine." Sleeping Beauty replied.
"It's not." I replied, staring into her glowing blue orbs.
"You're too late Anomaly." Sleeping Beauty said, wiping her nose. She straightened her shoulders and cracked her neck.
"Your life is mine. And now that I know everything about you, I will not hesitate to begin killing your family." She said.
"Stop." I said coldly.
"I hope you said your goodbyes." Sleeping Beauty said.
I remained quiet, staring at her.
"I will end you." I told her.
"You're going to need my permission." Sleeping Beauty replied.
I moved so that I was in front of her. She tried to block my punch, but she wasn't fast enough. I hit her in the face again, which caused her to stumble. Sleeping Beauty came barreling at me. She hit me in the ribs, causing me to stop breathing. My watch beeped, telling me that my time was up. I froze and Sleeping Beauty cracked a wicked smile.
"Goodbye Anomaly." Sleeping Beauty purred.
I crunched down, clutching my head. I felt like I had three different hangovers and a tiny man drilling into my skull.
"Get out of my head." I screamed at her.
Suddenly Sleeping Beauty froze, and dissolved into a blue mist. My head still hurt, and from the ground of the bar I was in, someone stood over me. I looked up at them, and tried to focus on their face. However they were silhouetted from behind. I squinted, and tried to focus on the person above me.
"You look like you've seen a ghost." Said the voice.
"I have." I heard my voice from a distance behind me.
"I love you." Said the voice.
I shot up, gasping from air. Cisco, Dr. Wells, Caitlin and Barry were all around the med bay, watching. Everyone was holding their breath, in anticipation for if I was going to live or not.
"Oh thank god." Cisco breathed, and tackled me with a hug. I hugged back, and refused to let go.
"I'm so glad you're back." Cisco mumbled. He sounded like he was crying for a while.
Cisco let go of me for a moment, and let Caitlin and Barry hug me as well.
"What happened?" I asked, as they all stepped back.
"You died." Cisco said, choking on the last words.
"I died." I breathed, wondering about the voice I had heard asking about a ghost.
"How are you feeling?" Cait asked.
"I'm fine." I replied. The memory lane I just went down, had taken a big emotional toll on me.
"What happened?" Barry asked.
I got comfortable on the hospital bed and told them everything that had happened in the past 12 hours. I left out the last part with the voice about the ghost.
"We're all glad to have you back Ms. Dumas. Get some rest. You've had quite the night." Dr. Wells said, patting my knee. I smiled at Dr. Wells.
Everyone let me rest for the remainder of the day, and Barry covered for me at the CCPD. I browsed a bit on the internet, and tried to catch up things I missed out on in Starling City. A news article popped up about this giant massacre in the Glades. Throughout the article were a list of the dead. As I read through the list of names, I stumbled across Tommy's name.
I scrolled as fast as I could back to the top of the article, and saw that the Undertaking happened nearly a year ago. I began to wonder, in my strange timeline life, where Oliver and Laurel were right now. I couldn't believe that Tommy was gone. Laurel and Ollie must have been crushed. I shed a few tears for Tommy, and then clicked out of the article. I curled up with a blanket, and watched the news in the Cortex. I fell asleep instantly.
I woke up a few hours later, and saw Barry standing over me. I jumped in surprise, and tried to scoot away from him.
"Hey, it's okay." He shushed me.
"Barry? What are you doing here?" I asked.
He was obviously from the future. His face was scared on one side, his eye was cloudy. I hadn't seen this version of Future Barry in a long time. Not since I woke up from my coma. He had this wicked smile on his face.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I just fought a crazy metahuman from the future. I could be better." I said.
"Always stubborn like your mother." Barry said.
"Will you ever tell me who she is?" I asked.
"In due time." Barry said.
"I'll be waiting Flash." I said.
"Get some rest Anna." Barry said, before running off. His lighting was blue, which I found to be weird.
I made myself a cup of hot chocolate, and headed up to the Cortex to watch a movie.
Dr. Wells was in the Cortex, looking at a screen.
"Dr. Wells? What are you doing here?" I asked setting my mug down.
"I do own this facility, Ms. Dumas." Dr. Wells replied, not turning to look at me.
"No, that's ..." I trailed.
Dr. Wells spun around a looked at me.
"That's not what I meant. It's late." I said.
"That it is." Dr. Wells said
"Would you like me to drive you home?" I asked.
"Actually, will you go to dinner with me?" Wells asked.
His question caught me off guard. It sounded like he wanted to go on a date. I guess I had taken too long to answer, because Dr. Wells adjusted himself in his chair.
"Unless you're too busy with another re-run of Red Lights" Dr. Wells said with a ghost of a smile on his lips.
I licked my lips, and still didn't answer.
"You don't have to say yes Anna. I can handle a no." he said.
"Okay." I said quietly.
"Goodnight Ms. Dumas." Dr. Wells said.
"No. I want to go." I repeated.
Dr. Wells smiled. We went to a fairly fancy restaurant, and had a lovely time.