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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
oxviii. powers
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AFTER THE TWO co-workers ran down to where they kept the generators at. Chloe held onto a flashlight, shining it to where Cisco needed to see. Cisco began to flip a bunch of switches to turn back on the power. Once the last switch was flipped on, Chloe and Cisco both sighed in relief that the power was back on. But the generators could go out at any minute, so Chloe turned off her flashlight as Cisco checked everything over.
"Do you think it worked?" Chloe asked. "I'm not sure-" Just as Cisco said that, Barry and Caitlin came in to the room, Barry was draped around Caitlin for support.
"Oh my god! Barry- Are you okay?!" Chloe asked worried.
"You're winded. That's not good." Cisco pointed out as Caitlin sat Barry down.
"I need to take your blood to figure out what happened." Caitlin told him, going into Doctor Mode. Barry was panting, Chloe walked over to them, worried about her brother.
"I can't believe he's dead." Barry panted.
"Dr. Wells?" Cisco asked as Chloe asked, her eyebrows furrowed, "Who's dead Barry?"
"No, no. Tony Woodward." Barry told them.
As Caitlin injected a needle into Barry's arm she told them, "He escaped from the pipeline."
"Holy shit-" Chloe breathed. Tony may have been a bully but he didn't deserve to die. Chloe knew that much.
"He must have got out when the blackout hit."
"Not possible. The pipeline was designed to withstand a power outage. Someone had to have let him out." Cisco told them.
Chloe glared at the ground, "There's only two other people in the building and sparky sure as hell didn't let him out- It was Dr. Wells."
"Chloes right. I did. I released him." Dr. Wells spoke up.
Chloes mind was reeling, how could he have gotten Tony out of the pipeline? The barrier weighs a lot, and Dr. Wells is in a wheelchair? He couldn't possible walk, Could he? Chloe shook her head, No. Dr. Wells wouldn't lie to us, would he? Chloe was doubting her boss every second that was passing, she was almost certain he couldn't walk - but it made no sense otherwise how would he be able to get Tony out of the pipeline? Chloe brushed it off, she could brainstorm later.
"Why?" Barry demanded as he stood. "Yeah- Why?" Chloe hissed.
"To divert our intruders attention while we worked to restore your speed." Wells explained.
"News Flash, Doctor, it didn't work." Chloe glared at the man, something was off, something had always felt off about Dr. Wells to her. Maybe she'd find out what in the future.
"You used him as a distraction?" Barry demanded once again hurt in his tone.
"An unnecessary one, as it turned out. It seems the plan has failed." Dr. Wells wheeled a bit towards them.
Three of the co-workers were in shock, but one, Chloe, was confused, she may have not been as smart as Cisco or Caitlin or even Barry, but she knew when something was wrong. And this felt all too wrong.
"I- I have his blood on me." Barry pointed out to Wells. Chloe was reminded of her moms blood spilling out of her body, staining Chloes pajamas. Chloes eyes got blurry as she watched Barry, say something she had thought so many times about the man who killed her mother. "How could you do that?" She didn't want to think about it so she calmed her thoughts and payed attention to the conversation in front of her.
"You're showing a lot of sentiment for a man who tormented you as a child." Dr. Wells spoke.
"Tony might have been a bully then and now, but he didn't deserve to die." Barry argued.
"Does Chloe or Caitlin or Cisco or me or you? I had a choice to make, him or us. I chose us, without a second thought." Dr. Wells told Barry, making two of the three look down sadly.
No. You chose Barry. Chloe held her tongue.
"Well, all you talk about are miracle cures and scientific breakthroughs, but you don't care about people at all." Barry argued.
"Well, maybe you care too much, Barry. I know being a hero is important to you, and I respect your ideals. I just don't have the luxury of sharing them." Dr. Wells spat out.
"I forgot. Your games chess. We're all just pawns to you, right? So what's your move, Doctor? Which one of us gets scarified next?" Barry demanded to his mentor. Dr. Wells stayed silent as Chloe was trying to figure out what felt so off about the situation.
CAITLIN WAS USING a laptop to try and figure out why Barry's speed didn't come back as Dr. Wells spoke up, "We have to get out of the facility."
"We just left him on D level." Barry was still going on about Tony.
"We'll never make it in time." Chloe told him, as Caitlin replied, "We'll never make it to the main entrance from here." Still looking at the computer in front of her.
"What about the garage, the mobile lab vans?" Cisco questioned. "That could work." Chloe spoke up looking at the ammo clip in her gun, six bullets, she hadn't had to use one yet. Thankfully.
"It's my move, Mr. Allen, and I say we make a run for it." Dr. Wells told Barry.
"Oh my god. Barry, look!" Caitlin pointed to her laptop screen, "Your cells, they're still rapidly regenerating."
Barry started to vibrate his hand, making Chloe focus away from him, it reminded her to much of that monster. Though his hand slowly, slowed down now not vibrating.
"I still don't have my speed."
"It must be mental, not physical." Dr. Wells realized.
Cisco laughed slightly, "Ooh, you have the yips."
"The what?" Barry asked.
"You know. When a second baseman all of a sudden can't throw to first or a golfer tries to putt and they get all embarrassed and upset, and then that makes the yips worse, and it's a hot mess, and then they feel like even more of a failure." Cisco rambled.
"That's not helping." Barry sighed.
"Look you asked if I believed you were struck by lightning for a reason, if you were chosen. I believe. You should too." Caitlin encouraged.
A loud boom sounded throughout the building. "Let's move." Dr. Wells spoke up. "Lets." Chloe said.
They all quickly ran to where the vans were, well Dr. Wells moved as fast as his wheelchair could move. Barry ran towards the vans as Cisco called, "Second van, keys are inside!"
"Come on! Get in! Come on!" Barry yelled to them.
The van suddenly stopped starting and the garage stopped opening. Dr. Wells' wheelchair also stopped working. It was Farooq.
Barry and Dr. Wells fanatically tried to get the two to work.
"He's here." As if on cue, Farooq walked into the garage hands glowing with electricity and eyes mad with rage. He stuck his hands out and zapped the van, causing Barry to jump out of it.
"Barry." Chloe whispered as Caitlin ran towards him. Chloe and Cisco soon following, leaving Dr. Wells behind.
"Oh my god are you okay?!" Caitlin asked.
"Barry?" Chloe demanded as her brother groaned.
"Did he hit you?"
"I'm okay. Guys." Barry answered before looking to where Farooq was getting closer.
Chloe reached for her gun but she had left it by the generator. She cursed under her breath. "I don't have my gun." She hissed to the three as she stood up slightly. Caitlin, Barry and Cisco we're freaking out as Farooq raised his hand at them.
"Oh my god. No, please."
"Hey!" A shout was heard from behind Farooq. It was Dr. Wells. Chloe was so sure that his wheelchair wasn't working. So, how'd he get over to the garage door? "You're here for me."
"Finally you show your face." Farooq spoke.
"Well, I wasn't exactly eager to be killed." Dr. Wells answered.
"Neither were my friends." Farooq spoke getting closer to Wells.
Chloes body began to zap again, like it had earlier though she hadn't been hit by Farooq this time. Barry, Caitlin and Cisco were to busy watching Wells to notice.
"I know. I hurt a lot of people that night."
"People? You don't even know their names." Farooq pointed out.
"Jake Davenport. Darya Kim. Ralph Dibny, Al Rothstein, Grant Emerson, Will Everett, Bea Da Costa, Ronnie Raymond." Dr. Wells looked to Caitlin though he noticed Chloe sparking. That was certainly - not - surprising to the man. He looked back to Farooq, "I know the names of every person who died that night. I know they all mattered, and the fact that the world is now deprived of their potential is something I have to live with everyday, But these people- These people have done nothing wrong. You want to punish me?" Wells asked. "Fine, lets do that, but let these people live."
"You died that night too." Farooq told Wells before throwing his hands out and hitting Wells.
Chloe felt her hands zap more, though she didn't feel the shock you'd usually feel.
"NO!" Barry screamed as Wells was thrown back.
"You just didn't know it till today." Farooq told Wells.
"Okay! That's it!" Chloe screamed, unbeknownst to her, her eyes were glowing a dark electric blue, her hands zapping the same color more frantically. Before she knew it she thrust her hands out like he did a second ago and a bright dark blue electrical current flew from her hands and over towards to Farooq. Though, she couldn't stop the currents flowing from his hands straight to Wells.
Barry's speed seemed to be back again because just as Chloes electrical currents hit Farooq, knocking him back a few feet, Dr. Wells was gone and put in between Cisco and Caitlin as they all watched Chloe, in shock. They didn't know she had powers. Hell, Chloe didn't even know that she had powers for her eyes widened as she turned around to face the threes.
"Okay! Wells! What the fuck is happening!" Her eyes were still glowing, and her hands were still zapping and shaking. Wells didn't answer, he didn't know how to. Or that's what Chloe thought.
Farooq had gotten up and just as he turned back to face the woman who had just thrown him back a few feet, Barry stood in front of him. Farooq shot at him but Barry kept dodging as Farooq got more frustrated seeing as he could hit Barry.
Then Farooq thrust his hand out and managed to hit Barry making the man now in his suit groan. Soon though the electricity turned a bright yellow instead of the blue it was before.
Making both Barry and Farooq drop down to their knees screaming as Chloes eyes faded back to their normal soft blue and her hands stopped zapping, her eyes now wide as she watched scared of what was happening to Barry. The electricity then stopped as Farooq fell over and onto the ground, Barry panting as he stayed on the ground.
Chloe saw Barry say something but she couldn't hear it, as he rushed away. Leaving a wide eyed, shaking Chloe. And three others confused as to what had just happened.
ONCE BARRY RETURNED to STAR Labs and Chloe had calmed down, the team stood in front of the pipeline as Caitlin zipped up the body bag of Farooq.
"We could have called him "Blackout."" Cisco spoke.
"He had a name Cisco." Dr. Wells told him firmly.
As Caitlin walked towards the group, the pipeline closing behind her.
"I'm just not sure what happened. Why didn't he just siphon all my powers like before?" Barry asked.
"Because you finally stopped thinking about your powers and just connected to them." Caitlin explained, showing her tablet, "Look this is a sample of your blood from just after you were struck by lightning." She swiped to a new slide, "Now your cells are generating more energy that ever before. It was more energy than the Meta could safely handle, not to count the blast Chloe had delivered to him before hand. It's almost like he chocked on you."
"But what does that mean?" Cisco asked.
"It means you've kicked it up a notch." Dr. Wells told Barry. As they were walking back to the cortex Chloe spoke up to Cisco and Caitlin, "Okay! Now that that's dealt with... Can we talk about how I went all Thalia Grace from the Percy Jackson Series?"
Cisco laughed, nudging her shoulder, "It's safe to say that you're a Meta, Chloe Allen."
"Yeah but how?" Chloe questioned.
"Did something happen to you when the Particle Accelerator exploded?" Caitlin asked. Chloe thought for a moment, "I got thrown back into my wall and it felt like all the electricity from the building was running through me, but Iris was calling and Barry had been struck by lightning so I brushed it off."
"Then, that's most likely how you got your powers." Cisco told her. Chloe sighed, "Yeah, but what if this changes things? What if I hurt someone when I don't mean too?"
"You have a couple of guns in your desk drawer and you're afraid you're gonna hurt someone?" Cisco demanded in a teasing tone.
"I mean-" Chloe started.
Cisco and Caitlin laughed at their friend, "It's okay we'll all help you out..." He trailed off, before getting a huge grin on his face. "What?"
"Now let's finish our chat from earlier!" Cisco called.
"What chat..?" Chloe was confused until her eyes widened and her face heated up, ". .Oh- that chat." Cisco beamed, "Yeah, that chat." Chloe sighed in defeat as Cisco started to bombard her with questioned about why she was so obsessed with finding that Cold Gun of hers.
It resulted in Chloe telling him that she just wanted her gun back, and after over 20 minutes of convincing him it wasn't anything else, Cisco finally caved and agreed that she just wanted her gun back. Though he felt the redhead had other reasons.
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AUTHORS NOTE | word count : 2348
Here's the "big" reveal i guess! I had more planned but honestly it wouldn't fit well-
I really thought this would be more of a crazy reveal but it's not honestly.
I'll go more in depth about Chloes abilities and "superhero" name as the book goes forward lol!
Hope you enjoyed this chapter and episode!
Next episode is the crossover *screams of excitement are heard in the distance*
Anyways.....
Future Me here!! I'll probably do a few of these when I want to rant about some chapters! Okay, so ya know how Barry's all up on his stupid high horse like "wE cAnT kIlL iTs wRoNg!1!11!" when it's been fuvking proved time and time again that this bitch has killed so many fücking people. Like Farooq in this episode. Barry straight up killed him and he's mentality is still that "Killing is bad" mindset. (and yeah, pls don't murder lol) But, it just got me thinking since I honestly forgot he even killed Farooq. And, Barry always gets on everyone's ass about "Killing being bad" (which it is so like pls don't murder again) when he's killed so many people as of s6- Idk- It just irks me! BUT IT IS BARRY FUCKING ALLEN SO WHAT CAN YA DO ?
^^ Okay, sorry for this rant from future me lmao!
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