DCU The Flash #28 I am The Flash (The Forgotten)

"Daniel… are you certain? My apartment-"

 

Barry is cut off by a swift head shake, silencing the man and making him frown. Daniel takes a deep breath, his exhale shaky and filled with nerves. "I… I'm sure, Barry," he says, fiddling with the bus ticket in his hands. "I… I know everyone is… but I can't be here, in this city. Not right now, at least."

 

The bus station is crowded, much more than Daniel has ever seen. He guesses it makes sense, given everything that's happened in the last week. He's running too, just not in the way he's pretending to. He peers down at the ticket in his hand; a ticket for Midway City, the former home of Creed Philips.

 

"Metropolis is a long way from here, but you know me, Iris… all of us will be there in an instant," Barry says, giving him a small smile.

 

Metropolis. He'd told them all he reached out to a friend from highschool, asking if he could stay with him for a while. He doesn't like lying to them, they're his family… but that same family would try and stop him from what he has to do.

 

He has to kill the Eradicator.

 

"Metropolis B3 leaving in five minutes."

 

Daniel brings himself to a stand, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. Barry stands with him, a concerned expression Daniel's seen all too much since that night. Daniel is taken aback as Barry leans in to hug him.

 

"Be safe, Daniel," he says, squeezing tight.

 

Daniel reciprocates, feeling a jolt run through his body as he does. "Always, Barry."

 

As he pulls away, he gives a final wave, before boarding the bus. He finds a lone row, taking the seat and its partner for his bag. Looking out the window, he watches Barry see him off with that same expression on his face. He'll make sure that expression disappears, and he'll make sure none of them have it ever again.

 

Daniel doesn't notice the small sparks of red lightning in his own eyes.

 

-^- Later That Morning -^-

 

Barry gnaws at his inner cheek, rapidly tapping his foot against the cobble walkway beneath him. He's currently at Dwyer Park, sitting on a bench overlooking the pond. His eyes are fixated on a couple sitting together in a boat. He frowns at the envy he feels, or rather, fear of envy.

 

He's terrified. Terrified of what he's about to do, about the reaction, about the consequences of it. Eddie and Jay were right though, what he's doing, hiding half of his life from the love of his life is wrong, and unfair to not only Iris, but himself.

 

So he decided he'd tell her. He called her and asked to meet here, at the most secluded part of Dwyer Park. He knows Iris, and knows she could never hate him, but even so… he knows how important trust is, and that a secret like this could break that trust, could ruin them. He can only hope for the best.

 

"There you are!"

 

He snaps his head to the voice, his concern fading upon seeing Iris, who's pushing low hanging branches from the path to the bench. The feeling of dread still lingers, but just seeing her, just having her take a seat beside him, his mind feels at ease.

 

"Hey, Iris," he greets, scooching over so she has more room.

 

"Hey yourself," she responds, bringing both legs onto the bench to sit with her legs criss-crossed. "So, this place is pretty secluded… and there's a nice view of the pond below, not much I can think a couple would do up here. Barry Allen wasn't planning something scandalous on the fly, was he?"

 

Barry again feels a sense of safety wash over him as he laughs. "No, no scandals with me," he says, thankful for the shade of the trees that hide his embarrassment. "I… I actually wanted to talk to you. I thought the place was… private enough."

 

Silence follows as Barry stares at his hands, thumbs twiddling. "Barry?" Iris asks, taking a hold of his hands, running her thumbs along his. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

 

The tapping of his foot quickens, his heart pounds against his ribcage, and his mind races. Images of Joe crumbling and August being struck by lightning flash before his eyes. He clenches his jaw, pursing his lips with his eyes closed. More images come to mind. Eddie, broken out of his shell and Wally, smiling as blue lightning sparkles off his skin.

 

"I am the Flash."

 

Silence encompasses the two. Barry's eyes are sealed shut, unable to open and look the woman before him in the eyes.

 

"I know."

 

Sound returns to Barry in waves. First is the pounding of his heart, loud and fast, like a snare drum. Next comes the nature around him. Birds, the wind, laughter from the pond below them. It grounds him. Reminds him, no, tells him that it's all real. Finally, the crackling of lightning, which causes him to open his eyes. Without even realizing it, he'd generated an aura of lightning around the two, giving light to the shady seclude.

 

Barry finally meets her eyes, jaw going slack and face going red at the short and simple response "I… you… how…" he asks, too dumbfounded to form a proper sentence.

 

Iris calms herself, keeping her soft giggling from evolving to full on laughter. Her smile stays ever present, though. "I do, for years now, infact," she explains, nodding her head. "Ever since you fought with Mardon."

 

"With Mardon?" Barry asks, eyes going wider than thought they could. "That… that was my first time being the Flash, how?"

 

"You keep your eyes exposed in your suit," Iris chuckles, cupping his cheek and running her thumb under his eye. "It was the first thing that stood out when I met you, and it was the first thing I saw that night… before the symbol, the cowl, or even the lightning that danced along your body."

 

"You knew… all this time," Barry mumbles, placing his hand on hers. "Why didn't you say anything? If you knew…"

 

"You were keeping it secret for a reason," she says, causing him to be filled with shock once more. "Don't look so shocked: we're not in a movie, Barry. I wasn't going to freak out at you for not telling me. You planned on telling me when you were ready to, and that's what just happened."

 

"I… I'm sorry," Barry begins with a quiver in his lip. He's unable to stop the tears that follow, head falling onto Iris's shoulder. "I… I was so worried about telling you, about telling anyone… Joe and August both found out, but now… now they're…"

 

Iris places her hand on the back of his head, running his fingers through his hair. "I… don't think that's a fair burden to carry," Iris says, to which Barry nods.

 

"I… I know," he sobs, holding onto her shirt. "I just… It's all happened so fast. First Thawne showed up and made me relive it all… then dad, finally a free man, might never wake up. Then Joe and August… they're both gone… Heatmonger and Eradicator got away, and we have no idea what Raijin is capable of."

 

"I might not know about everything, and there's still tons you need to tell me," Iris says, pulling Barry up from her shoulder to look her in the eyes. "What I do know is that you aren't alone, and that it's okay to slow down sometimes. The Flash may be the fastest man alive, but that doesn't mean your pain goes away in an instant."

 

"I can't just… walk away… not if someone is hurting," he mumbles as she wipes his tears away.

 

"I'm not saying to," Iris says with a smile. "I just want you to remember Barry Allen may be the Flash, but he doesn't need to be the fastest man alive."

 

Barry nods, finally smiling once again. "Yeah… alright," he mumbles, sniffling. "Yeah okay, I'll try."

 

For the next hour, the two sit together, letting small talk and silence dominate their time. Iris rests her head on Barry's shoulder, his hand in hers. Barry's eyes fixate on a bird as it lands in its nest, smaller, naked birds appearing from inside.

 

"Y'know, dad asked about kids when I last saw him, he said twins run in the Allen family," Barry chuckles, watching the bird feed its young. "You said some of your relatives have twins as well, right? Together, we've probably got a guarantee, maybe even more than just twi- Iris?" Barry turns to the woman to see her face blank, one eyebrow twitching. "Iris, are you okay?"

 

"Y-yeah, I uhm, kinda had something I wanted to tell you too," Iris says, recovering and smiling up at Barry. "I've been meaning to tell you, but with everything that's gone on, we haven't had much time to ta-"

 

BOOM

 

Barry sighs, making Iris chuckle as he stands. "I'm so sorry, Iris," Barry apologizes, raising his fist and letting the golden ring around his finger expel his suit. With a quick spin, he's in full costume.

 

"You got yourself a ring before me?" she asks, to which Barry rolls his eyes, unable to hide his smirk. He jumps slightly as she smacks his ass. "Go save the day, then we'll slow down and talk later."

 

"I love you," he says with a wave before speeding off.

 

"I know."

 

-^-

 

As Barry arrives on the scene, his face immediately scrunches up in confusion. Standing atop a broken-up car with a large weapon in hand, is a man dressed in nothing but a leotard and cape.

 

"Flash!" a voice calls from behind him, grabbing Barry's attention. Skidding to a stop, dressed in a yellow and red tracksuit, is Wally. He wears sunglasses over his eyes, ones he recognizes from Vulcan's Veggies' basement. "Glad you're here, I've gotten most of the area evacuated already, but there's still a few buildings I haven't covered."

 

Barry's confusion shifts to a smile. "Great job, Kid," Barry nods, turning to the naked man. "Did the barbarian man say anything when you arrived?

 

"Nothing, he's just been… imitating a monkey," Wally explains, pointing at the man, who slams his fists down onto the car's hood.

 

"A monkey, what the- get down!" Barry shouts, pushing Wally to the side as the man raises and fires his weapon. A beam of energy shoots out from the gun, striking the street and causing it to rupture. Barry quickly grabs Wally, jumping on and off crashed cars like stepping stones. Though he makes it free of the blast, the shockwave still hits, knocking him and Wally to the ground. Barry is quick to stand, wiping some blood from his lip.

 

"Agh!" Wally shouts, Barry turns towards the boy in horror. Curling on the pavement, Wally holds his arm, his right shoulder clearly dislocated. Dug deep in his bicep is a chunk of asphalt, dripping with blood. "My arm…"

 

Barry curses under his breath as he grits his teeth, anger boiling inside. Kneeling down he surveys the ground, searching for anything for the boy to bite down on. Finding nothing, he exhales to steel himself, holding his forearm up to Wally. "Bite down," he orders, grabbing the chunk of debris with his free hand. Wally complies, the action making Barry wince. He pushes through, pulling the debris out from Wally's arm and snapping it back in place with two quick motions.

 

Wally releases Barry's forearm, his hand shooting to his wounded arm. "I'm… I'm sorry, Fl-"

 

"Don't apologize," Barry cuts him off, extending his non bleeding arm to help Wally to a stand. "Neither of us were expecting that gun, we-"

 

"Help! Please, I'm stuck!"

 

Barry turns to the voice, spotting a man whose leg is trapped beneath a pile of rubble. He turns to Wally, noticing his wound has fully healed already. It was faster healing than his own, and it was only Wally's first time using it. "I'll help him, get the baddie!" Wally shouts, to which Barry responds with a nod. He couldn't help but smirk as Wally darts off, even in the destruction. His abilities and his spirit are truly amazing.

 

He turns his head from Wally, eyeing the villain. Lightning crackles along his body as he lowers his stance, placing both hands against the broken up ground. The gorilla man across from him is already charging another shot of the gun, its red energy building and emitting its own lightning. As he exhales, Barry takes off. Each step he takes causes a new surge of Speed Force lightning to spread around his body. He's manipulating it, each burst acting as a kickstart for his next step. Each burst makes him that much faster.

 

Wally will be faster than him. He knows it, but right now? He needs to keep getting faster. Each step he takes paves the way for him. He couldn't save Joe, or August, or his father, or Bivolo… but he can keep trying, and keep pushing forward. Barry can keep guiding and protecting him, until the day comes when he can save them.

 

Barry's fist slams into the villain's jaw, his other hand grabbing the underbarrel of the gun and aiming it into the sky. The weapon fires, it's blast lighting the mid-day sky up red. The tail end of the shockwave hits Barry, but the force is that of a gentle breeze. He quickly dismantles the gun, leaving the parts in a small pile next to the unconscious villain.

 

He'll make sure Wally is a better hero than he'll ever be.

 

-^-

 

Iris plops down onto her couch, rubbing her tired eyes. With the recent influx of super villains, she's had more work on her plate than ever. Paired with the streak of tragedies that have fallen upon them, she's dead tired at 4pm.

 

She pulls her laptop out of her bag, and begins typing notes, not for her work, but for Barry. They'd need to talk more in-depth about everything going on, but her conversation with him did bring up a few names.

 

Heatmonger, The Eradicator, Thawne, and Raijin.

 

She doesn't know who, or what Thawne is, but she knows of the others. More specifically, she knows who the villains are, and knows who the god lightning is. She knows Barry, and because of that, she knows he'll still end up pushing himself, even if they continue to talk and she continues to let him vent the way he did.

 

Her hand rests on her stomach, eyes looking down with a soft smile upon thinking of their conversation.

 

"Y-yeah, I uhm, kinda had something I wanted to tell you too. I've been meaning to tell you, but with everything that's gone on, we haven't had much time to ta-"

 

Her smile shifts to a small scowl. "There better not be more than two of you in there," she reprimands before looking back up to the laptop.

 

Hours of Iris seated at the sofa pass, hours of searching to no avail. Barry had texted her, letting her know he wouldn't be able to talk for a few days, something about following a lead to Africa. She'd definitely need to ask him about that when he got home, but for now, he'd be gone. She was fine though, she knows their talk would keep him grounded.

 

She groans, leaning back against the couch. While Barry may have found a lead to follow, her search had proved to be useless so far. Anything she could find on Creed Philips surely wasn't new information to Barry. Lucious Coolidge disappeared years ago, with anything past his disappearance being a complete mystery. The name Thawne proved to be the most prevalent, but nothing about it pointed towards any of the attacks, just a lineage of poor farmers.

 

Raijin wound up the worst of all. All she had found were folktales and descriptions of the god of lightning from mythology, but none of it proved to be helpful.

 

She's in over head. She's a journalist, and she's damn good at research, but she's not a detective. It's then when a lightbulb goes off in her mind. She begins rapidly typing, before a smirk spreads across her face.

 

"There you are."

 

-^- The Next Morning -^-

 

Iris slams the cab door shut, waving to the driver. She looks down, checking her phone, then back up at the building. "Right address," she mumbles, eyeing the apartment complex once more. It's run down, located in one of the worst parts of Keystone City. Graffiti sprayed all over the chipped brick walls, the fire escape looks like it would break if a child stood on it, and there's an ac unit hanging dangerously far outside a window, ready to drop on a pedestrian below.

 

It does fit him well, she supposes.

 

Taking cautious steps over the tipped over trash cans, she makes her way to the buzzer. She grimaces at the green stain on the panel, pressing her thumb against it with a sigh. "Hi, I'm here f-"

 

Iris is cut off by the sound of unlocking doors. She hastily removes her thumb from the buzzer, wiping it on the bottom of her blazer as she steps inside. "Not just the outside, I guess," taking note of how small, and unfurnished the building is.

 

She steps further inside, scanning the mailboxes lined on the wall. Her eyes light up as she reaches the man she's looking for, located in apartment 6E. Happy with her finding, she trots to the elevator, before freezing with an audible sigh. Her eyes shift from the sheet of paper taped to the door that reads "out of order" to the rickety staircase.

 

"The greater good," she mumbles to herself, taking one step onto the staircase, nearly falling as the plank of wood slides out of place. "Oh come on!"

 

With slow and cautious steps, Iris makes her way to the top floor of the building, then down the dimly lit hallway. "6E," she says, performing three quick knocks against the door.

 

Iris stands in silence for just under a minute before she raises her hand, ready to knock again. Luckily, the door swings open, causing a smile of relief to spread across her face. The man in front of her has a confused expression on his face. His cheeks are hollow and he has a long, beak-like nose, but his round eyes give off a kind, friendly impression. Anything else about him, whether it be his lanky bone structure, his thin fingers, or stained button up, gives off the opposite vibe entirely. Still, Iris could recognize that wavy red hair from anywhere.

 

"Hey, Ralph," she says, smiling coyly at his already darkening expression."Remember that favor you owed me?"

 

----------------------------

 

NEXT TIME: A New Hero Rises!

Done