EXPEDITE ▇▇▇▇ VOLUME ONE
━━ ❛ 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒄𝒕 ❜
chapter no. 002!
THE NIGHT HAD COME AROUND AGAIN TOO SLOWLY. Piper rested her forehead against the cool, brick wall and sighed quietly. The twelve-hour shift she was working only had two hours to spare, and those felt like they were a million years away. Streetwise Bay was always packed on Friday. Her manager would never admit it, but Fridays made more money than any other day of the week.
"Pipes, can you take table six's order? Some kid spilled his drink all over the floor, and Robert's making me clean it." Erin Osborn huffed.
Piper raised a brow. "Sure, why not? I love taking orders." Her roommate rolled her eyes and shot her a grateful smile before walking away.
Tired and worn out, the redhead begrudgingly weaved her way through the tables, making her way to table six. Pulling out her notepad, she stopped walking and looked up to be met with the stares of Jay Garrick and Linda Park, both of whom she knew.
Jay Garrick was a speedster that had traveled through the singularity, or as the public knew it to be, the "black hole" that almost destroyed Central City. He came from Earth-Two, and because of finding out about this information, Piper created an algorithm that helped her conclude that she was from Earth-Four. Jay was known as the Flash, just as Barry Allen is on Earth-One.
However, Linda Park, Piper knew because she had briefly dated Barry for a short time. Piper didn't know all the details, mainly because she already knew enough about the boy and wasn't too keen on paying close attention to his love life. That was mainly because she had grown quite fond of the fellow speedster, even though he had no idea who she was, let alone knew of her existence. And by fond, she meant a really small crush that was ridiculous even to have because they'd never met.
"Hi, thank you for waiting. What can I get for you tonight?" Piper asked politely, flashing a somewhat forced smile. Nerves flooded her system, and she anxiously gnawed at the inside of her cheek, a habitual habit she'd had since her parent's deaths.
"Piper?" Linda breathed out, her dark-brown eyes as big as saucer pans as she stared at the girl before her.
The redhead raised her eyebrows slowly, her palms becoming sweaty. "That's what it says on my name tag, so yes. What can I get for you?" she repeated the question.
Jay's jaw was set as he glared at Linda, deadly daggers piercing at her through his eyes. Piper didn't notice. Her attention was solely focused on Barry's ex-girlfriend, who was staring at her as if she had killed her cat.
How the hell does she know who I am?
"I-I didn't know that you were here. I thought you were back on Earth-Two... Did you get here through the breach?" Piper's eyes widened as the realization set in. This wasn't Barry's ex-girlfriend. This was Linda Park from Earth-Two, and she knew Piper's doppelgänger.
She cleared her throat and forced a perplexed expression, tilting her head to the side. "I'm sorry, but do I know you?" she asked, and Linda blinked.
"Light, it's not her. Drop it." Jay hissed quietly, hoping the redhead wouldn't hear him, but she did. Piper glanced between the two tentatively before bringing her notepad back up, looking expectantly among them. "We'll both take the Beef Brasato with Pappardelle and Mint," Jay said softly, sending her a charming smile, to which she returned.
"All right, that'll be out shortly," Piper said as she collected the menus, and they nodded.
Linda fidgeted in her chair as her eyes stayed glued to the redhead, never once leaving her figure. As she walked away, Jay snapped his head towards Linda, his glare narrowing.
"You just exposed us to a complete stranger—"
"She isn't a complete stranger, Z."
"On this Earth, yes, she is. After we leave here, you can never talk to her again. Got it?" Linda's fists clenched. "You cannot have your feelings get in the way."
"I haven't seen my girlfriend in six months—"
"She isn't your girlfriend anymore, Light."
After handing the order slip to a cook, Piper returned to where she was standing previously. She set the menus on the stand and glanced up as Erin made her way back over, her forehead glistening with sweat. "I'm ready to turn in my two weeks' notice," she breathed, placing her menus on the top of the redhead's.
Piper snorted. "You say that every shift you work." Erin rolled her eyes and checked the time on her watch. There was only an hour left 'til eleven.
The two stood there, their eyes sweeping the restaurant as a peaceful silence settled.
Piper appreciated the silence that rarely occurred when the two were together. Especially today. The noise had been all that consumed her mind; voices of different pitches and tones had rattled her brain ever since she clocked in that morning, keeping her busy and restless. At times, she felt as if her job was making her go crazy. The customers' voices would always ring whenever she stepped foot into the large building.
A bell rang, and she heard her last name called. Sending Erin a jaded smile, she went to the kitchen, grabbed the food, and continued to table six.
Upon arrival, Jay and Linda stopped speaking and turned to the waitress as she placed their food down. "Two Beef Brasatos with Pappardelle and Mint. Is there anything else I can get for you?" she inquired.
Jay cleared his throat and shook his head politely. "No. Thank you, beautiful."
The word caused Linda to turn her head so sharply that something popped, and Piper felt her cheeks burn. "Uh, you're welcome. Enjoy." She wasn't used to receiving compliments. At least not from people around her age. She often received them from older, creepy customers.
As she walked away, she could hear Linda hiss, "What the fuck, Fred Jones?"
────
LISA SNART WAS SOMEONE THAT TEAM FLASH DESPISED.
Whereas Lisa Snart was someone that Piper Lita found to be entertaining. Even though she wasn't the biggest fan.
Despised and entertained were two completely different characteristics on opposite ends of the spectrum. However, right now, Lisa was anything but either of those two. She was desperate and broken.
Piper knew she was desperate. Why else would she go to Cisco Ramon and ask for his and the Flash's help? According to Lisa, Leonard Snart had been kidnapped, but Piper was hesitant to take her for her word. She believed the woman was being genuine, but Snart wasn't kidnapped. He was far too clever for that; the man always had a backup plan. Sometimes multiple backup plans. Sometimes too many backup plans.
"Alright, so, you really want us just to believe that Captain Cold was kidnapped?" Barry Allen asked, rolling his eyes at the girl who stood next to a TV screen in the Cortex at S.T.A.R. Labs.
"I saw it happen," Lisa started to walk. "Last night, Lenny, me, and Mick were knocking over the cashier's cage at Central City's Racetrack."
"Does it physically pain your family not to rob people?" Caitlin Snow piped up, walking over where Central City's hero stood.
Piper snorted on the opposite end of the tablet screen, chewing on a pretzel. The redhead had installed a camera in the Cortex a few months ago when the Earth One Reverse-Flash was pretending to be Doctor Wells. She wanted to know what was going on, and a camera was the perfect way to do that.
Of course, she still felt guilty from time to time for what she had done, but she wanted to keep an eye on all of them, not just Barry. Okay, that was a lie.
"I never finished the job," Lisa smirked. "After Mick torched through the side entrance, I look back for Lenny and saw him getting thrown into the back of a van."
An annoyed expression rested on Barry's face. "And why didn't you and Mick follow?"
Lisa met his eyes. "I would have... Someone hit me from behind and knocked me out." Cisco suspiciously looked between the two, not entirely buying the story. "When I came to, Lenny was gone, and Mick already made off with the cash."
"How do we know that this isn't some kind of a trap?" Caitlin asked, speaking everyone's mind.
"If Lenny wanted Flash dead, he would have let Mardon, Simmons, and Bivolo take that honor, remember?" Lisa raised a brow, and the brunette rolled her eyes like Piper.
"Yeah, I remember," Barry nodded.
Why did he look cute when he was only nodding his head? Piper ignored her mind and kept her eyes on the tablet.
"Good. Then you'll also recall that you owe Lenny a favor for saving your life. Time to make good on that debt, Flash." Lisa quipped, crossing her arms.
Caitlin looked over at Barry and, simultaneously as Piper, said, "I do not like her."
"Yeah, but she makes a point." Cisco shrugged.
Barry and Caitlin turned and looked at him, shock registering on their faces. "What? We should at least hear her out. Right?" Cisco glanced over at Lisa, who was smiling to herself.
A tense silence settled over the four, and Piper sighed, standing up from her bed and stretching. Keeping her Bluetooth earbuds in, she walked to her bathroom and brushed her teeth.
"Even if I wanted to help, how are we supposed to find him?" Barry eventually spoke, and his voice's sudden sound almost caused Piper to choke on her toothpaste.
Spitting into the sink and coughing, she could hear Cisco's voice in her ear. "Not a problem." Footsteps could be heard for a moment before they ceased. "See, when I rebuilt the cold gun, I didn't have time to place a tracker on it, so I devised a method of locating it by borrowing some military technology. See, the gun works the same as thermal imaging. Only instead of infrared heat signatures, it's looking for ultraviolet cold signatures." A beep sounded, and Cisco paused. "Whoa, look at that. The gun's UV thermal reading was last picked up at fifth and Hoyt eight minutes ago."
Piper dropped her toothbrush back into the marble container and clicked the silver heart charm that hung from the necklace around her neck. Her speedster suit sprung from it, and she jumped into it. The last thing she heard before speeding off was, "All right. Let's see if you're a liar."
Expedite arrived at the building much before the Flash did. Meaning she had time to overlook the perimeter and check to see if anyone was inside.
The building was empty, and there was no sign of Snart.
A whoosh sounded from the hallway, and Piper ducked behind a filing cabinet when Barry entered the office she was in. Glancing across the room, she saw two figures walking.
Papers flew everywhere as the speedster whispered, "Snart."
"Barry." Leonard Snart mimicked.
The Flash raised a brow and threw out his hands. "Are you okay?"
Captain Cold scrunched up his face and shrugged. "Peachy." He started walking, the scarlet speedster following behind.
"Okay... Uh, I'm supposed to be here to rescue you." Piper stood up and peered over the cabinet, her eyes automatically checking Barry out before she could stop herself.
"That's not necessary. You can speed along now." Leonard reached out and grabbed a rolled-up blueprint from a desk, eyeing it curiously.
Snart was doing this out of his own free will...
"Look, Snart, if these guys are making you do this—"
"No one makes me do anything."
"Then why does your sister think you've been kidnapped?" A thud sounded, and Piper held back her swears of stupidity as she hastily glanced down at the box of papers she'd knocked over. Barry looked over in her direction, and Captain Cold whipped out his gun, clicking down on the trigger. A burst of bright blue exploded from the gun, and it traveled up the Flash's body.
The ice stopped after it covered the lightning bolt emblem, and Barry grunted in pain.
Don't intervene. Don't intervene.
"What's taking so long?" A man neither Expedite, nor the Flash recognized strutted into the room.
"I got held up," Leonard smirked at the speedster and turned to the man.
"Always the excuse with you—" his voice faded when his eyes landed on the hero. "Look at that," the man grumbled, a smirk identical to Leonard's curled onto his lips. "I didn't think you had it in you, son."
Ew, that's Snart's father? Piper crinkled her nose in distaste as she eyed him.
"Thanks, Dad." Barry's eyes darted rapidly between the two as his hands shook. Letting out a groan of pain, he squeezed his eyes shut.
Don't intervene. Don't intervene.
"Come on. We're behind schedule." Mr. Snart exited the room.
Leonard was following behind before he turned back around. "You know what they say. Live fast, die young."
The two were gone, and Barry groaned in more pain.
Don't intervene. Don't— fuck it.
"Talk to me. What's going on?" Cisco asked through the comms.
"Cisco! Snart hit me with his cold gun." Barry breathed, and Piper snapped her fingers together sharply. Opening her palm, an orb of purple lightning rested in her hand. Glancing up, the redhead shot it across the room, hitting the ice.
"What the..." Barry mumbled, looking down to see purple lightning engulfing the ice, melting it right off him.
You're welcome.
He was too busy staring to look up and see his savior speeding out of the room, leaving behind a trail of lightning that left as quickly as it came.
"Barry, what's going on? Your vitals just went back to normal." Cisco spoke, and the red speedster shook his head.
"An orb of purple lightning just melted the ice."
"A what now?"
𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄!
❛ aka 'grayson rambles to you' ❜
(italicized sentences are piper's thoughts.)
(most dialogue involving the snart's and team flash belong to the CW. in case you were wondering, the scenes and dialogue are from season two, episode three.)
hi, hey, hello!
i am aware that in the show doctor light doesn't know of zoom's real identity but, for plot purposes, in this story, she does. adding onto that, the show never clarified or mentioned what Earth-Two linda's sexuality is but in this story she's gay. i will be critiquing some of the plot and storyline from season two because i have something bigger planned, so not everything is going to be "canon" or exactly as it is in the TV show.
please vote and comment your thoughts/opinions!