After looking around the lab for I while, I found Ralph in one of the containment units.
"Why are you in there?"
"This is prison for Metas, right?" I rolled my eyes. "Are you really gonna let him do this?" He asked, leaning against the wall. I shrugged.
"It's not my choice to make." He shook his head.
"Do you agree with him?" I sighed.
"Honestly...I don't know. I mean...my first instinct is to tell you that you should be more careful, but not only is that super hypocritical...my intentions are kind of selfish." He furrowed his eyebrows and I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Barry made a good point. There are only three of you left, and the more he takes...the closer he gets to you."
"Laura..."I stepped into the cell, looking down at my feet.
"I can't lose you." I whispered. "In my life...even before the powers, I have lost so many people. If I lose you too...I don't think I'd be able to take it." He grabbed my face, using his thumbs to tilt my chin up so I was looking at him.
"You're strong.' He said. "You'd be ok eventually." I shook my head.
"I've had to be strong so many times, and I barely made it those times. Besides, this is different. I didn't care about them the way I care about you, I didn't love them like I..." I trailed off, looking at him with wide eyes. I said it. I finally said it...kind of. He smiled.
"What?" He asked. "How was that sentence going to end?"
"I..." I bit my lip, looking into his eyes. "I love you." His smile turned into a grin.
"This is an interesting place to hang out." Ralph looked behind me, his smile falling, along with his hands.
"Come to suck the fun out of being benched?"
"I...no, I want your help, actually."
"You want help from the guy who can't take anything seriously?"
"Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so quick to judge, I..." We stepped out of the cell, standing in front of him. "But with DeVoe, so many steps ahead of us, it just-to see you joking around in the middle of this just made me feel like you weren't taking it seriously." Ralph leaned back against the wall, sighing.
"I know this is serious. I watched Izzy die in front of me. I see how scared she is every day." I bit my lip. "I'm scared out of my mind."
"Well, you know, you got an odd way of showing it."
"Yeah, well not everybody grew up with a super dad like Joe West who makes it easy to talk about your feelings. When I was ten, my dad walked out on me and my mom. I was terrified. But my mom, you know, she was even more afraid. So, you know, I just started making jokes. Started doing stupid gags and funny bits and whoopee cushions. Anything to push her fear away. And you know, after a while I started to push my fear away too." I grabbed his hand, intertwining our fingers. He looked at our hands, then at me.
"I had no idea, Ralph." He looked back to Barry.
"It's not that I don't care about beating DeVoe. It's not that I don't care about being a great hero. It's just ever since then, whenever I'm afraid, I either hide...or I make jokes."
"Barry, we found Null. Central City Museum."
"What do you say? You want to get of the bench? We really could use your help."
"Well, if doo-ty calls. You get it?"
"Yeah, let's just go, alright." Ralph looked at me.
"Did you get it?"
"Not your best work, babe." I told him.
~~~
We found Null at a jewelry party. When we got there, she already had one woman floating, which I grabbed and led her to a railing.
"Hold on, don't let go, ok?" I told her. Barry ran onto the scene and Ralph stretched down as usual.
"It's over, Null." Barry said.
"So, back again."
"Again?" I asked, looking at Barry. She turned around.
"OH. With some friends."
"Good friends actually, we hang out on the weekends, I know where he lives-" One look from Barry caused Ralph to stop talking.
"No getaway cars this time." Barry said.
"Right. No cars. But there are an awful lot of passengers. She crouched down, sending her power into the ground towards the party guests.'
"Oh my gosh, she's gonna send everyone into the atmosphere."
"Guys, you gotta get everyone out of there right now." Barry ran over, getting them all out.
"Alright, that's everyone. Where is she?" She dropped from nowhere, putting a hand on Barry.
"Lookin' fly, Flash. Back to business." I went to follow him, but Ralph stopped me, stretching his arm towards Barry. His arm snapped back into place.
"Guys! I can't reach him!"
"Let Ralph Improvise." Barry said.
"What?" Everyone asked.
"What?"
"Just do something Dibny-esque. Be your own hero, just do it fast."
Ralph turned around to see Null inspecting the diamonds, so he stretched over and fastened the cuffs around her ankles.
"Ralph!"
"That was your plan?" Caitlin asked. "He's gonna fall to his death!"
"I know what I'm doing!" He told them. He looked at me. "You believe in me?"
"Always." I answered.
"Any time, Ralph!"
"Ten thousand feet, he's falling fast. Now five thousand feet." Ralph looked up, calculating where Barry was going to land and running over and inflating into a giant cushion. Almost like a whoopee cushion. How Dibny-esque is that? Barry screamed, landing on top of him.
"Ralph did it." Iris said.
"Nice work Ralph." All of a sudden, a fart noise started leaking from him as he deflated. I pinched the bridge of my nose."You've gotta be kidding me. Ralph."
~~~
"Alright. Nulls in the pipe line, she's not to happy about it." Barry said as we walked back into the Cortex.
"Well, she's a lot safer there than she is on her own."
"Just one more Bus Meta out there." Caitlin said.
"Better find him before DeVoe does."
"Where's Harry? Isn't he supposed to be working on it?" Iris asked.
"He grumbled something about something and then left."
"I'm fluent in Harry grumble, he said he was going to work on his cat or he was making himself a turkey wrap."
"Or he was working on the thinking cap?" I questioned.
"That makes more sense, yeah."
"Well, I'm gonna head over to CCPD, do some more digging on this Edwin Gauss." Joe said, turning to leave. "Ralph. Why did a scared-sounding Earl Cox call me saying he was clearing your tab?" Ralph chuckled.
"I-uh, I have no idea. That's really weird."
"Hey guys, you wanna help me in the speed lab?"
"Sure. You wanna work on some improv?"
"Yes. Ha." They left and I chuckled, putting a hand on Ralph's back.
"You were great out there tonight, man." Barry said.
"Thank you. I had a lot of help. And I had some great teachers."
"You helped me realize that I can't always take everything so seriously. Even when it comes to the Thinker."
"Plus, with a guy like DeVoe, who has every step calculated, it's probably smart to try a method he can't predict." I pointed out.
"Wait a minute, are you two telling me that I, Ralph Dibny, taught Barry Allen and Laura Wilson, superhero extraordinaire, a lesson? What could this mean?"
"Means you're a great hero." Barry answered. "And you make this team better by being on it." I smiled.
"Ah, the circle is now complete. When I came here, I was but the learner, now I am the master."
"It's also good to be humble."
"But how can I be humble..." He literally puffed up his chest. "When I am swollen with pride?" He chuckled and I laughed.
"You're an idiot is what you are." I told him, walking towards the door. He easily caught up, grabbing my hand.
"Maybe, but you love me just the same, isn't the right." I smiled.
"I've wanted to say it for so long, I was just..."
"Scared." I looked up at him. "You were scared of the new territory. Believe me, no one understands that better than me." I nodded. "But if it helps...I knew how you felt."
"How?"
"Well for one, you not-so-subtly cut yourself off on various occasions." I laughed. "But I also know what you look like when you care about someone."
"Don't go getting a big head, Dibny."
"What? You mean like this?" His head expanded and I burst out laughing. He laughed, too, returning his head to normal size. "See? I'm hilarious! I don't know why the others don't see that!"
"Shut up. Let's go home."