"Is she sleeping?-" Cisco's voice woke me up, before he was snapping his fingers in front of my face, "Wake up! I have a whole presentation planned-"
"Hey, leave her alone-" I heard Barry swat Cisco's hand away, "She was up til like four am writing her article- her deadline is in a few hours-"
"No- it's alright-" My eyes opened, squinting at the light, rubbing then lightly, yawning, "I'm awake-"
"See what you did?" Barry shot Cisco a look, but it was slight, before setting my usual go to coffee next on the desk I was just sprawled on, "Hey- I got your usual- I was planning on giving it to you in at least thirty minutes- but-"
"It's okay, I'm up-" I got up, before hugging his middle and pushing myself onto my tippy toes, pecking his lips, "Thank you-"
Barry scrunches his nose and kisses my forehead, then pulls me into his side, rubbing my arm.
Cisco looks at us, his tone slightly playful, "Are you guys done being all cute and lovey dovey, 'cause I'd like to start-"
"Get on with it-" I leaned back into Barry, picking up the coffee he got me, sipping it through the straw.
"Thank you-" Cisco walked toward the monitor, "As some of you may well know, I've been deeply embroiled in a secret, one-sided battle with an invisible enemy-"
Caitlin almost laughs, "No, not the Turtle again."
"This is what you woke me up for?" I interject.
"What?-" Barry was confused at Cisco's words, "What is the- or who is the Turtle?"
Caitlin replies, "It's Cisco's white whale."
"Half whale, half turtle." Jay looked at Cisco.
"No-" Cisco huffs, "Do you see what you're doing, Caitlin? Everybody's confused now."
Harry cuts it short, "Get to it."
"I stumbled upon a few of these cases when we were looking for the Reverse Flash, robberies that were seemingly committed at high speed- people holding their beloved items one second- those items were gone the next." Cisco did exactly that and gestures to the screen that played the footage he had retrieved, "Tell me what you see."
"So he can- what?" Caitlin thought, "Stop time?"
"No, no, no- look at the time code." Cisco points to it, "It's still running."
"Yeah, okay." Barry looked closer, "So- if he's not stopping time, what is he doing?"
"Well- think-" I stood straight and took a step closer to the screen, observing the footage, sipping on my coffee, "Times still running- everyone around him is still, while he moves at normal speed- he's slowing down everything around him."
Cisco points, "And that is why we call him the Turtle."
Barry looks at him, "Why have you never mentioned this guy to me before?"
"Oh, I don't know, I think we've just been a little distracted, you know, what with Captain Cold and the Weather Wizard and Gorilla Grodd." Cisco stares at him with a look, "Do I need to go on?-"
Jay nods once, "Okay, so if we can catch him, figure out how he uses his powers-"
Cisco smiles lightly, "Maybe we can show Zoom what life is like in the slow lane-"
"That's smart-" I high five him, "Nice job."
Harry questions, "How would you even know where to find him?"
"Well, the robberies in the videos all correspond with police reports that were dismissed as lost or missing items instead of thefts- the suspect's M.O. being-" Barry went to the monitor, "Items of immense personal value."
Barry then started typing fairly fast, putting his speed to the test, my eyes widening, "Wow- that's insane- could you write my articles for me? How many words per second is that-"
"I would- but, you're stubborn- you wouldn't let me-" Barry winked at me, before grabbing his suit and running off without even letting us know where he was going.
"Uh-" Caitlin looked over at the screen, "Oh, it appears that there's a press conference at CCPD, because the Vandervoort diamonds have just been recovered-"
Cisco exhales, "From Hell's heart, I stab at thee."
-
"Well, the good new is whatever the Turtle did, it only affected you temporarily." Caitlin said to Barry when they came out of the Med Lab and into the cortex.
"Yo." Cisco immediately questioned him, "What was it like being in Turtle Time?-"
"Was it like- a weight pushing you back so you can't move forward, or you not having any energy at all?" I questioned after him, "Did he suck the energy out of you?-"
"Yeah, no, it was weird- but- exactly like that-" Barry buttoned his sleeve, "It was like waves of inertness- like all the energy was suddenly sucked out of my body, and then it would return."
"That's because that's exactly what was happening." Harry held his notepad, "He has the ability to transfer all the surrounding kinetic energy into himself."
Jay adds on, "Leaving everyone else in a temporary state of potential energy."
"That's right." Harry nods.
"So- why could I still move?" Barry questioned.
"I'm assuming it'd had something to do with your speed-" I was now writing in my own notepad, jotting down notes for my article, "Typically- you move a hundred times faster than everyone else- hypothetically- that could be the same case here- your speed could be the factor as to why you could change positions faster than anyone else-"
"That's exactly right-" Harry looks up at me when I say that, "You can convert your stored potential energy back to kinetic energy- how did you know that?"
"I have a wide imagination?" I looked up at him, "I'm kidding- it was just easy to piece together-"
"Nice-" Harry nodded at me once in approval, before turning to head into the next room.
Cisco calls out, "Excuse me, where are you going"
"Trying to figure out how to use this against Zoom." Harry looked back at him, "You remember Zoom?"
"Cisco, please join me." Cisco began saying out loud when Harry left the room, "We'll use your idea and take it to new scientific heights and save the world. Yes, I'd love to!"
"Okay-" Caitlin said when he followed Harry, "Facial recognition software found us a match from the press conference footage."
"The Turtle's name is Russell Glosson." Caitlin read, "He was a small-time thief who stopped thieving after the particle accelerator explosion."
"All right, I'm gonna head to work- catch Joe up." Barry put his blazer on, "Let me know if you find anything else-"
I folded my notepad and jumped onto his back, "Gimme a lift to CCPN?-"
Barry caught my legs, slightly smiling to himself before running off without another word.
-
"Okay, I think we can call it." exhaled Iris that night at the West Household where her, Barry, Joe and I had been for the past two hours with untouched food, "Wally is not coming."
"I'm sorry, Joe." I looked at him from where my head laid on Barry's lap, "I know how much this meant to you-"
"He's a kid, right?" Joe took a sip of his drink, shaking his head, "I get it."
Iris crosses her arms, "He could have at least called."
"Well, there could be a number of reasons why he didn't." Joe tried, then shook his head, "Thank you all for being here- I love you guys-"
We all returned the gesture, watching him walk upstairs and to his bedroom, ending the conversation, as Iris began putting away the clean dishes.
"Damn-" I exhale, popping another grape in my mouth, "I can like- sense his sadness-"
"It's alright-" Barry had a hand on my head, his thumb caressing the root of my hair, "He'll be okay- I know it."
"What about you?" I lightly nudge his shoulder, "You've been quiet all evening-"
Barry lightly shrugs at my words, my eyes squinting at him in slight suspicion.
I ask, "Is it The Turtle?"
Barry softly laughs and shakes her head, then looks down at his hands, "Um- no, I've just had a lot on my mind."
"A lot on your mind." I stare at him, "Like what?"
Barry stares at me for a few seconds, then purses his lips and shakes his head, "Nothing-"
"Okay, let's try that again-" I exhale slow, looking up at him, "Wanna talk about the nightmares you've been having late at night?"
Barry looked caught off guard, "I-"
"Come on, Barry- you don't think I'm going to notice when you jolt up screaming and out of breath? Oh- then proceeding to pull me into you and hug me-" I confronted him, staring at him, "What's so bad that you wake up from every night?"
"Uhm-" Barry looked down at his hands while I put another grape in my mouth, "The nightmares- they're about- Zoom- killing you-"
His words made me choke on the grape, then proceed to fall right off the couch when I went to turn onto my stomach.
"Wow-" Barry sat up quickly and grabbed my arms, pulling me back onto the couch and rubbing my back, "Are you alright?-"
"I'm fine-" I calmed down from my coughing fit, clearing my throat, my voice raspy, "What?-"
"I- uhm, yeah-" Barry exhaled and looked down at his hands, "It's reoccurring- we'd go on a date- an actual date- we'd dress up all nice and go to dinner- and then he'd- come- steal you away from me and throw you off a building."
I blinked a few times, my eyes glued to him, before hugging him, pulling him into me, my chin resting on his head, "Zoom will never get to me."
"How do you know that?" Barry's voice fell quiet, relaxing in my embrace, holding onto my arms.
"Because I know you won't let it happen." I told him, "You'll always be there to protect me."
-
"Hey-" Barry greets everyone as he and I walked into the cortex the next day, "You guys got anything?"
Cisco looked at us, "I think we found the next target for our 30-something, meta-human, not-a-Ninja-Turtle."
"Wow-" I cross my arms, stopping next to him, "How long did it take you to come up with that one?"
"It just came out of my mouth- did you see that?" Cisco was amazed with himself, "That was amazing-"
"Uh- truly, yes-" I nodded along with him quickly to make him happy, moving around the console, then leant against the railing, "Incredible-"
Cisco ruffles my hair over the desk, then points at the monitor, "Central City Museum is hosting a special black tie event tonight showcasing- The Crystal Ball."
Jay adds, "It's a famous painting, apparently, recently recovered from Markovia."
"The painting is on loan to the museum from the Silverberg family." Cisco read off the screen, "Jacob Silverberg himself said, "The painting's safe return means more to us than all the money in the world." It's like they're begging Turtle to rob it-"
"Okay, yes." Barry nodded lightly and rounded the console, "This is a plan- so, the Turtle will make his move, and we can be there waiting to take him down-"
Caitlin looks at Jay, "How do you look in a tux?"
"Come on, he's 6'2", he's square-jawed, and he's jacked." Cisco remarks, "He think he looks fine."
Jay corrects him, "I'm 6'4"."
"What do ya say?" Barry pokes my arm, catching my attention, "Wanna go to the Crystal Ball with me?"
I looked at him, "Are you serious?"
"Come on-" Barry stands directly in front of me and brushes his fingers through my hair, fixing what Cisco messed up, "I could see you in pretty dress- maybe we can dance-"
Cisco points at me, "You do look good in a dress-"
"This is like- a fancy event- those aren't my thing-" I cross my arms, looking between them, then up at Barry, "You think you're going to persuade me with the thought of me wearing a dress?"
"Oh, come on- please-" Barry wrapped his arms around my middle and pulled me against him, "It'll be like- date night- it'll be nice-"
I blink, looking at him in amusement, "Setting up a trap for the Turtle is nice to you?"
Barry purses his lips, looking up for a moment, then looked down at me, "I'll buy you coffee tomorrow morning?"
I stare at him, as I squinted my eyes at him slowly, "And a brownie."
Barry nods once, "And a brownie-"
"Fine-" I sigh dramatically and drop my head into his chest, "I'll go."
-
"Hey-" I walked over to Barry, Caitlin and Jay that night, being the last one to arrive, adjusting the gold bracelet I wore that Cisco had attached a comm too, "Sorry, I'm late-"
Barry turned around at the sound of my voice, his eyes slightly widening at the sight of me, not saying anything for a moment, just eyeing me up and down.
I wore a simple dress, one that was gold but was so dark that it appeared back with a shimmer of gold, gold ankle strap heels on my feet, my wavy hair down and reaching the top of my chest.
"I- wow-" Barry swallowed hard and blinked a few times, "You look-"
"Unusual?" I cut him off, "Terrible?"
"Gorgeous." Barry corrected me, before leaning in and pecking my lips, "You're so stunning-"
I softly smile at him, tilting my head to the side, before pecking his lips back.
"Hey, hey!" Cisco's voice rang in both of our ear pieces, making us both jump, "Less kissy kissy and more focusing-"
"Sorry- sorry," Barry replied, then looked between us all, "All right- keep your eyes open for the Turtle- a sentence I never thought I would say."
When Jay and Caitlin separate from us, Barry grabs my hand and pulls me onto the dance floor, "Will you dance with me?"
"Well, I can't exactly say no now that you've already pulled me along-" I put my hands on his shoulder, "I'll let you use me to save face."
Barry softly smiles at me, his hands firm on my waist as we swayed back and forth, "You know- I'm glad this happened."
I looked up at him, "What's this?"
"Us." Barry said, holding me close, "It's better than anything I couldn't asked for-"
"Careful." I tease, "You're going to boost my ego."
"Wouldn't wanna do that, now would I?" Barry played along, before lightly shaking his head, looking down for a second, "No, really- I just- do you remember the video Wells left for me- the one we watched together-"
"Yeah, of course I remember that." I looked between his eyes, going serious, "You trusted me enough to watch that with you- I'll never forget that."
"I will always trust you-" Barry looked up at me again, his eyes locking with mine, "In the video- he said I'd never truly be happy-"
"Barry-" I exhale, "You know that's not true-"
"He was wrong." Barry nodded once at me, "I didn't see how wrong he was until you kissed me back when I came to you the night we tried to trap Zoom-"
Barry was sincere, "You make me so happy-"
My voice was quiet as I spoke, nodding lightly towards him, a soft smile forming on my lips, "I'm glad this happened too-"
"We've got eyes on Turtle." Cisco's voice sounded in our ear pieces, making us both alert almost immediately.
"Go- alright?" I was pushing Barry away, "Go-"
Barry nodded and wasted no time, running off, as the Turtle came in sight, holding a gun after making us all freeze in our spots.
"Go, go, go!" I shouted to people that were now gasping and screaming when we came out of the pulse, pushing some people towards the exit.
"Selfless-" The Turtle's voice filled my ears, his gun now aimed at me, my hands flying up in a surrender gesture, taking a few steps back, "Never a good trait."
Barry ran in as the Flash, standing at the top of the staircase, "You're opinion won't matter much soon-"
"This is a trap?" He looked between Barry and I, then at me again, "I'm slow- not stupid."
He then sent a wave, making everything slow around him, my entire body stiffening, completely still.
The Turtle raised the gun in his hands and shot the chandelier above me, as it began to slowly inch towards me as it fell, Barry running down the steps, only to be stopped when the Turtle sends another wave, making it more difficult.
Before the chandelier could hit me, Barry pushes through the third wave and pushes me out the way, landing under the chandelier himself.
I hit the ground hard, getting so overwhelmed that I could feel myself start to lose consciousness.
"I got them-" I heard Jay's distant voice, feeling myself be lifted off the ground and thrown over someone's shoulder, before everything went black.
-
"Your pupils are normal- your heart rate's a little low." Caitlin's voice filled my ears from the cortex when I woke up laying on the bed in the Med Lab, "But- other than that, no concussive symptoms."
"I really do feel fine-" Barry's voice followed after her, as I slowly sat up and held my head, feeling slightly dizzy.
I got up and slowly walking into the cortex, "Hey-"
"Hey-" Barry immediately got up and came over to me, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine- just a little dizzy-" I grab onto his arms, then look between everyone, "What about Turtle?"
"No sign of him- or the painting." Cisco replies, "He, uh, must have gotten away with it in the chaos-"
"Took a pretty hard fall back there-" Jay was staring at me, "Uh, you sure you're alright?"
"I'm not the one who threw myself under a chandelier-" I looked up at Barry, "Thank you- by the way-"
"You don't have to thank me." Barry put a strand of hair behind my ear, "Always gonna protect you, right?"
I smiled lightly and nodded at him, as he kissed my forehead and pulled me into his chest.
-
I exhale slow, seated on my couch, dressed in a white cropped tank top, along with a pair of black high waisted ripped jeans, holding a glass of wine.
I had changed out of my dress and into my usual go to, knowing that I'd probably swing by the West Household, so it was better to be dressed appropriately rather than just sweats.
There was a knock on the door, making me groan lightly, "Barry, you have a key! Just come in-"
He knocked again, making me huff and set down my glass, getting up and swing open the door, "You're seriously making me get up to answer the door for you?-"
When my eyes landed on the Turtle, I immediately tried to push the door closed, but he pushed back with force, making me fall onto the ground.
I grunt and pushed myself onto my feet, my hands warming up quickly and flying out in front of me, a blast of flame leaving from both palms and toward him.
He sent out of wave, making everything freeze in it's spot, my heart stopping the moment he does.
"Oh, that's not good-" He slowly walked toward me, his eyes staring at the flame in the air, "That's not good."
When the wave broke, I rushed, grabbing my phone from the table, only for him to he quickly grabbed me by the neck from behind, making me drop my phone, holding the gun from before to my head, the blast from my hands scorching the door.
My jaw was clenched, no longer fighting against him due to the gun to my head, "What do you want from me?-"
"The thing most precious to the Flash," His voice was slow, before he hit me in the back of the head, my eyes rolling to the back of my head as I lost consciousness, "-you."
-
[ barry's pov ]
I skidded to a stop in front of Zee's apartment, pulling out my key, pushing it into the hole, only for the door to lightly push open as it had not been shut all the way, or locked.
Which was weird.
Zee rarely left the door unlocked, unless she knew someone was coming over, let alone opened.
I put my key in my pocket and slowly walked into her apartment, looking around, "Zee?-"
My eyebrows furrowed at the sight of her shattered phone on the ground, then noticing the scorched mark on the back of her door.
"Oh, god- no, no, no-" I pulled out my phone immediately, my fingers quick to dial Joe's number, "No, no, no-"
"Joe!" I raised my voice when I put the phone to ear after hearing his greeting, "Joe, um, I think the Turtle has Zee- I- look, just meet me at S.T.A.R. Labs, all right?"
I don't let him reply, before I'm already out the door.
-
[ zee's pov ]
"That should do it-" The Turtle's voice was low after he injected something into my arm no matter how hard I resisted, as he had me locked in a chair, clamps on my wrists, "It'll dampen your abilities long enough for me to finish-"
"Finish what?" I grunted, pulling on the clamps, "What do you want from me?"
"I want you to stop moving-" He stares at me, "Forever."
"I don't get it." I breathed out and fell back against my seat, "What do you get out of killing me?"
"Oh, I'm not gonna kill you-" He shook his head and returned to his desk, "That's much too- fast and messy. I like to take things nice and slow."
"Look, whatever- the Flash bested you the last time you guys ran into each other-" I stared at him, "What, you think kidnapping the girl he saved is going to prove a point?"
"This isn't about hurting you." He looked at me, "This is about hurting someone who values you."
"You're talking about the Flash?" I sat up a little, starting to laugh, "Are you screwing with me right now? I have no idea who he is- all I know, is he's just- a blur- running about the city- saving people."
"Your articles say otherwise." He tilts his head to the side lightly at me, "You've got a special connection to the Flash- everyone knows that. No reporter could get that many close details without knowing the source-"
I scoff and threw my head back, looking up at the ceiling, "I'm just good at my job."
He then mentions, "I saw the way he saved you-"
"Yes, because that's what he does, you delusional prick-" I looked at him again, "He's a hero- he saves people who need saving-"
"That's a waste of time- saving people." He looked back at what he was doing, "They take everything for granted-"
"My wife Rosalyn took me for granted." He got up, "She wanted to leave me- the thing I valued most."
"So, that's what this is about?" I raised my voice at him, "You're hurt because your wife left you? You turn into a criminal because you have a broken heart- are you kidding me? I've been broken for years but I made something of myself-"
"I couldn't let her leave me- I couldn't let it happen." He slowly walked over to the wall, pulling off a cloth from a glass box, "So- I made her mine- forever."
My heart stopped when I saw a woman, frozen and dead in the box, his name written on a small card to label her.
He then picked up another card, walking to the space next to her, pulling off the cloth, slowly pushing the card into the holder, my name written on it, "I do hope I spelled your name right."
-
[ barry's pov ]
"Bar- we'll find her." Joe tried to assure me as I paced back at forth, messing with my hands.
"I'm not getting any leads on this guy." Cisco expresses, "It's like he's totally fallen off the grid- any of the stuff he's stolen, I can't find it."
"He keeps them-" Harry suddenly said, "He keeps them the way a serial killer collects trophies."
Caitlin adds, "He's stolen a lot of stuff."
"Which means he needs a lot of space to store it, right?" Joe points, "That's where we start- see if he rented any storage spaces."
"No, no- I'm not getting anything." Cisco exhaled, but then realized, typing quickly on his keyboard, "Wait a minute- his ex-wife used to be an archivist for antiquities at the Naydel Library before it shut down, and it shut down three months after the accelerator exploded."
Joe looks at him, "That place is big enough to hold Turtle's stuff."
"Okay, all right-" I nodded quickly and started backing away towards my suit.
Jay calls out, "Wait, Barry- we haven't even figured out how to neutralize the Turtle's power."
"Well, I'm gonna have to power through it-" I said, before grabbing my suit and running off quickly.
-
[ zee's pov ]
"No!-" I raised my voice, trying my best to fight in the restraint he had me in, trying to move away from the needle that inched closer and closer to my arm.
All of a sudden, Barry ran in, only to be stopped when Turtle sent a wave back at him.
He walked to Barry, before his fist came in contact with his face multiple times, then upper cutting him to the ground, the wave breaking.
Barry grunts, then turns and runs right out.
"I guess you were right- he doesn't care about you as much as I thought." Turtle slowly turns, then grabs a blade from the table, walking towards me.
"No-" My heart dropped, trying to pull out the clamps I was in, "No!-"
When he raised the blade up to my neck, my leg flung up and kicked him back, his blade moving from my neck and slashing an wound sideways right over my chest.
Suddenly, Barry ran back in, making our heads snap towards him, the Turtle sending a wave towards Barry.
Barry struggled, but pushes himself, the Turtle sending another wave to try and slow him down.
Barry froze for a second, but forced himself through, running right into the Turtle, sending him flying back, hitting the wall and falling unconscious.
"Hey!-" Barry breathes out heavy and immediately came out to me, prying the clamps opened from my wrists that were marked and bruised from it, "It's alright- I got you-"
"Barry-" I gasped, wrapping my arms around him when he lifted me up, "I'm fine- I'm okay-"
"You're- bleeding-" Barry noticed the wound, ignoring the state he was in, blood tricking down his face, "I got you- let's go-"
"Barry!-" I began, but he was already running off.
-
My eyes opened, feeling a sharp pain right above my chest, my body feeling as if all my energy had been sucked out of me.
"Hey-" Barry's voice filled my ears, making my head turn towards him, who was sitting next to me in a chair, "How are you feeling?-"
"What- happened?" I lifted my head, looking around, then hissed lightly at the pain present in my wound, laying my head back down.
"You passed out on the way here-" Barry told me, sitting up lightly, running a hand through his messy hair, "Turtle is locked up in the pipeline- he can't hurt anyone else."
"Oh thank god- he was going to turn me into a doll-" I sigh dramatically, "My chest hurts."
"I know- I know, Caitlin said it'll take a little while to heal-" Barry purses his lips, "Quicker than usual- turns out- you have healing abilities- not as quick as mine- but- they're there."
"That makes a lot of sense-" I nodded lightly and look up at the ceiling, "Explains why the wound Thawne left on me after breaking into my apartment healed unusually quick- people just like breaking into my home, don't they?"
"Yeah, no kidding-" Barry laughed lightly, then picked up a small bag from the table next to me, "If it makes you feel any better- I got you gummy bears? They're the sour ones you like-"
My eyes widen at his words, immediately sitting up even though I was in pain, my eyes screwing shut, "I want them-"
"Wow, wow- slow down-" Barry laughs lightly and stands up, "I can feed them to you- you don't need to get up-"
I shook my head and lightly scooted to the side, then patted the spot next to me, looking at him.
Barry's expression went soft, before he slowly got into bed next to me, pulling me into his side, leaning back, popping open the bag of gummy bears as we both sat in bed and shared them.
authors note:
this chapter holds a lot of content
but i'm excited for the next few chapters, lots of stuff coming for you guys, lots of ideassss
but zee screaming at turtle made me laugh a lot
and omgggg the zarry moment at the ball
they just make my standards so high, it's my own fault
but thank you for 46k !!
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