Within Seconds // Barry Allen

Wave Goodbye

Barry and Iris could have sat in the empty cafe all night talking, if not for his cell phone ringing only a few minutes prior to the dilemma with Parker being solved. Seeing it was Caitlin, Barry was tempted to ignore it. He held a strong feeling she was calling to yell at him.

"Barry," shamed Iris. 

"I'm going, I'm going," sighed Barry. He answered the phone. 

"Barry, you need to get here, now!"

"Is Parker okay?" was the first thing out of his mouth, which wasn't a big surprise. "Is she okay?"

"Just get here."

"I have to go, it's an emergency," said Barry.

"Is everything all right?" asked Iris. 

"I'll call you!" 

Barry crashed through the doors. He waited until he was clear from Iris' view, then he sprinted across the city. He skidded to a stop in the Cortex. A scan of the room indicated to no Parker. He panicked. It hadn't helped that no one else knew her location. 

"Where is she?!"

A knock on the doorway had him spinning. 

"If by 'she' you mean me, then I'm right here," said Parker awkwardly. 

He observed her as she passed by him. He caught the dark smudges on her jeans, telling him that she had previously been in the bathroom. Their paper towel dispenser had been out for ages. His tense shoulders dropped, the anxiety and worry slid from him. 

Remembering the other important problems, Barry fell into the state of panic again. "Black is here and he's just standing there!" He frowned. "That's not him, is it?"

"It's one of his replicates," confirmed Dr. Wells. 

"How'd you get him?" asked Barry. He poked the clone. 

"I grew him," said Caitlin excitedly.  "I isolated a sample of Black's blood from your suit, and saw if I could recreate the in vitro process and learn how Black multiplies. So, I exposed the target cells to a protein gel and they began replicating to that."

"Why isn't he--? It doing anything?" asked Barry.

"We did a brain scan. Involuntary motor functions are active. Little else," explained Dr. Wells. 

"We think it's acting as a receiver," said Cisco.

"The clones are an empty shell without Black. Shut down the real Black, and you might shut them all down," said Caitlin. 

"How do we know which one is the real Black?" asked Barry. 

"Everyone has limits," said Parker. 

Barry looked to her, hopeful, but she refused to meet his eyes. 

"You were passed out when you ran. Black should look different, sick, maybe," she offered.

"He's the prime," agreed Caitlin. 

"Just a theory, but one you may want to put to the test, Mr. Allen," encouraged Dr. Wells. 

The group dispersed.

Barry took a step for Parker. Unintentionally, Cisco blocked his way. He was forced to listen to him speak proudly of his homemade protein bars.  

A pair of traumatic shrieks echoed the room moments later. Black's clone had come to life. He reached for the thing closest to him: Caitlin and Parker. Latching onto one another, Caitlin tried to drag a stumbling Parker out of reach.

Frightened sounds came from all when bullets flew through the air. Black's clone hit the floor. The bullets were embedded in his chest. 

Joe kept his gun raised. "Any more?" he asked.

"Nope!" shouted Caitlin, and it was not because of any other reason except than the ringing in her ears.

Then, the women noticed how closely they were holding each other. They sprung apart. Each fixed their hair and straightened their outfits. 

"Why did it start moving?" panted Parker. 

"The prime. My guess is the prime is on the move. This one heard the summons to battle," predicted Dr. Wells. 

"And I know where he was summoned to," said Joe. "Stagg Industries."

Barry urgently looked to the radio sitting on Joe's hip. "You should call it in."

"Police can't fight this. What Black has become, like Mardon... Beyond me. Maybe way beyond them, too. The only person it's not beyond is you. You gotta do this. I get it. So, for once in your life, do what I tell you what to do. Go stop him," ordered Joe. 

Barry didn't wait any longer to run. 

Not much space remained around the computer desk for Parker. She stayed put on the cot, nose buried in her book. She took deep breaths to calm her nervous stomach. 

"Remember, Barry, find the prime," said Caitlin. 

"There's too many of them to fight!

"Barry, you need to isolate the prime," said Dr. Wells. 

"I can't! It's impossible..."

Parker kept her head down. She read the printed words over and over, but her mind was elsewhere. The book had become something of a prop to her. All she kept thinking was BarryBarryBarry.

"Nothing is impossible. Barry, you taught me that," said Joe. "You can do this."

A collective breathe was inhaled by all occupants of the lab when Barry didn't respond. 

"Barry?" asked Joe. 

"I'm fine. I'm fine. It's done."

Parker's lip split, releasing a nervous inhale she hadn't remembered taking. She came to despise the frightened feeling in the pit of her stomach each time Barry left the building with the suit on. Her worry would never quit.

Joe ensured his kid was in one piece before he left the Cortex. Right after he was gone, Barry's eyes made a beeline to Parker. She didn't notice. She was watching the news segment about Danton Black. 

"I tried to save him," mumbled Barry. 

Dr. Wells took it upon himself to answer. "Doesn't sound like he wanted you to. Some people, when they break, they can't be put together again."

"Some people heal even stronger," disagreed Barry. 

"I hope so."

"Well, at least Multiplex won't be able to hurt anyone else," said Cisco optimistically. 

Parker cheered. "You did end up with a good name!"

Cisco straightened his jacket proudly, succeeding in making the women giggle and the men shaking their heads at his immaturity. 

"I'll see you guys later," said Barry, smiling. 

Parker watched him leave. At the doorway, he turned, and she snapped her head the opposite way. Her cheeks warmed. She prayed he hadn't caught her staring. 

"I may be in the suit doing all the running, but when I'm out there helping people, making a difference... You're all out there with me. Finally realized something: we were all struck by that lightning."

Parker linked together her hands. She watched her moccasins, twiddled her thumbs, whatever she could to keep her eyes from him. She felt his hopeful eyes staring her down. Disobeying her repetitive thoughts, she brought her eyes up, moments too late.

There was no Barry Allen, only an empty doorway.