This is a Fem!Barry x Harrison Wells (Eobard). I'm going to try and 1 episode per chapter, but we'll see how it goes. Also, I don't have a beta, so if shit is spelled wrong or something, my bad!

I don't own the Flash.

The first time in what I would come to learn to be nine months, I started to become aware of my surroundings.

The first thing I felt was an intense groggyness weighing my body down, and a dull ache thrumming through my head. 'Ugh, this is even worse than that one time in college. How much did I drink last night?'

Deciding to keep my eyes firmly shut for the moment, I started to pay closer attention to the noises surrounding me. It didn't feel like my bed, but it seemed unlikely that I had sex last night since I didn't feel the expected soreness of a good time. Whoever's place I was, I knew it wasn't my apartment or my foster family's.

'Is that...Lady Gaga playing in the background?'

After another few lyrics, yes, it was certainly Poker Face drifting throughout the room, and also unfamiliar voices.

"What are you doing?" A female voice asked.

"She likes this song!" another male voice responded.

"How could you possibly know that?" Miss skeptical asked. "I checked her facebook page! I mean, she can hear everything, right?" He checked my facebook? Who was here with me?

"Well, auditory functions are the last to deteriorate," Wait, what? Deteriorate?

The strangers continued to talk in the background while I desperately tried to remember what the fuck happened last night. I know that I was feeling pretty depressed about missing the rest of my celebrity crush's speech about the Particle Accelerator and then getting my ass stomped when I tried to stop the thief who stole Iris' bag, but I don't remember going out and drinking that-

The Particle Accelerator. It...blew up! Then, looking up, all I saw was bright light and could feel crackling fire running through my veins, burning my blood-

My green eyes snap open and I quickly sit up in bed with a gasp as if I could escape the memory the burning pain.

"Oh, my God!" I try to focus on the young man in front of me, staring at me in shock and surprise. "Where am I?" I gasp out, not recognizing the room I was in. I blindly try to rub an area on my chest find a something suctioned to it. I remove it without a second thought, my eyes now shifting to the woman moving towards me holding what looked like a flashlight. I stare at her lips in confusion for a moment, seeing them move but not hearing any words. All I can hear is a buzzing, a familiar sound that always came before a panic attack. The woman was still saying something, and then shined the damn flashlight in my eyes, and I leaned backwards to avoid it.

Ah, she was saying something about my pupils. I quickly ripped off the suction cups that were on my head and winced slightly when they ripped out a few hairs by my temples. Frowning I ran a hand through my hair in confusion at feeling the long locks. 'How long was I out?!' My brown hair was much longer than I've had it recently, now curling to my chin.

I sat back up and tried to untangle my legs from the sheet when guy came over holding his hands up peacefully. "Hey, hey whoa, relax..." he said calmly and laid a hand on my shoulder. My bare shoulder. I look down in dismay and realize that I'm only wearing a plain black bra and matching boy shorts. Where were my clothes?!

"Everything's okay, girl! You're at STAR Labs!" He grinned at me, thankfully keeping eye contact. Wait-

"STAR Labs?" I rasp out, hearing a familiar subject finally starts to clear the cloud of panic away. "Who are you?" I ask, then jerk my head to the side when I feel something cold in my ear.

"I'm Cisco Ramon, this is Caitlin," Cisco introduces and shoots Caitlin a look when she continues to try to peer into my ear. "Dr. Snow." He explained with an eye roll.

"I need you to urinate in this." Caitlin demands while holding up a plastic cup. My mouth falls open a bit and Cisco takes the cup from her in annoyance. "Not this second!"

I've had enough. "Okay, what is going on?!" I move out from between to get some much needed space. "You were struck by lightning, girl!"

I squint my eyes at Cisco in confusion and quickly turn around so that they couldn't see the look of fear on my face. That would definitely explain the painful memories from those last moments in my lab...

The monitor in front of me derailed my train of thought as I caught a look at my body. "Lightning...gave me abs?" I asked in a baffled voice. Caitlin came back over to me and started poking and prodding at me again. "Your muscles should have started to atrophy but instead they have been in a chronic state of cellular regeneration." she explained with a hint of wonder.

"C'mere, have a seat." Cisco muttered and pulled me back into facing him, coincidentally saving me from the Doctor again. It's a good thing I sat down or I would have been floored when he told me that I'd been in a coma.

I couldn't help but stare at him in disbelief. Coma patients don't usually immediately get up and around after waking up, right? "For how long?" I asked, running a hand through my too long hair.

"For nine months."

My head whipped around to stare at the newcomer and I sucked in a breath.

Dr. Harrison Wells was there staring at me with those beautiful blue eyes that I've spent hours staring at from the cover of my favorite book, and multiple saved photo's that I've shamelessly downloaded from the internet. "Welcome back, Ms. Allen." he smiled. "We have a lot to discuss."

I stared at my idol/crush and tried to process what was happening. Why was he in a wheelchair? Did he get hurt that night as well? Why have I never seen him in casual clothing before? Why hasn't the world? Although, to be fair, if everyone saw how nice his arms looked in that tight fitted black sweater he would never get any peace and quiet. Dear god, and I thought he looked hot in a suit...

"Sir, I think I should continue to check her vitals first. Ever since Ms. Allen woke up she's been acting very disoriented and-"

His black hair looked slightly messy, like he had been running his hands through them. Did he do that? When he was stressed with work or had an equation that stumped him did he run his hand through his hair?

"Oh please, Caitlin, of course she's disoriented! The chick just found out that she'd been a coma for nine months!"

Was it even possible for someone to be born with such electric blue eyes? The just seemed to pop even more when peering behind those long dark lashes and glasses.

"-Allen? Ms. Allen?" I blinked and directed my line of sight down to his lips. Oh. "Y-yeah?" I rasped out before internally cringing.

"Is everything alright? Do you need something to drink?" Dr. Wells asked in what sounded like concern, and glanced behind me for a moment before locking them onto me again. I cleared my throat and tried not to ruin this meeting even more. "Oh, uh, no thank you, I'm fine. Thank you, though..." Dear god, could I make this any worse?

"Alright then," he smiled at me again, showing a glimpse of white teeth that had me momentarily distracted again. "If you'll follow me, Ms. Allen." He then turned his wheelchair around and starting heading out towards the hallway that he came from. My brain finally jumped into gear and I scrambled to follow him. I had just caught up with him when I heard the older woman behind me suddenly gasp. Dr. Wells and I stopped and I half turned to look at her in confusion. Her eyes were wide and was about to say something when I heard an sharp intake of breath next to me. I returned my gaze back to where it really wanted to be (lets be real) and blinked when I saw his eyes finish their trek back up to my face. No, Harrison Wells couldn't possibly checking me out, not in this outfit...

...I'm not wearing an outfit. I'm nOT WEARING ANYTHING.

My arms quickly shoot up to try and cover my black undergarments as I quickly dashed behind Dr. Wells' chair so that I was directly behind him, a rosy red blush lighting up my face and burning it's way down. Why did the fucking universe hate me?

I heard the man clear his throat and let out a small chuckle. "Ah, sorry about that, Ms. Allen. I didn't really notice that you were still in a state of undress. I apologize." I wasn't sure if I should be insulted by that or not.

Why didn't that damn lightning bolt just put me out of my misery?

8888

Caitlin directed me to an area where I could change into a pair of sweatpants and a STAR Labs sweater. She was also blushing and apologized for letting her professional side take over. I forgave her, although I wasn't sure if I would ever truly get over the mortification of meeting Dr. Wells in my panties.

I raised my head high and went back out to join the older man in the hallway. He did a quick perusal of my new attire and nodded before rolling away, waving for me to follow.

I darted forward so that I was once again beside him as we made our way down the hall. I shot a quick side eye glance down at the man I respect and admire. I opened my mouth to apologize for practically flashing him earlier but instead said, "It's...hard to believe I'm here right now. I mean, I've always wanted to meet you face to face."

"Well, you certainly went through great lengths to get here, Ms. Allen. STAR Labs hasn't been operational since FEMA categorized us as a Class 4 hazardous location," he explained as we moved past what looked like a destroyed cage. I spared it a quick glance before returning my green gaze to Dr. Wells. "Seventeen people died that night. Many more were injured...myself included."

We stopped at a railing and I carefully leaned forward, peering over it to see the wreckage below. "Jesus...what happened?" I asked in a quiet tone, looking back to the man with wide eyes.

"Nine months ago, the particle accelerator went online, exactly as planned. For exactly forty-five minutes, my life's dream was accomplished...and then..." he paused for a moment. "...and then there was an anomaly. The electron volts became immeasurable and the ring beneath us popped," he threw a hand up into the air. "and the energy from the detonation was thrown up into the sky. And that in turn seeded the storm cloud above-"

I looked up at the sky as he was speaking and then back at him, "-that created the lightning bolt...that struck me..." I finished for him.

"That's right," He nodded. His blue eyes were so intense as they stared at me that I unconsciously grabbed a fist full of my sweater, as if to assure myself that I was no longer half naked and exposed in front of him again. "I was recovering myself, when I had heard about you, Ms. Allen."

My eyebrows furrowed slightly and I let out a soft sigh through my nose. Of course the Dr. Wells would hear about me when I sick and dying. My luck was the worst.

"The hospital was having unexplained power outages every time you went into cardiac arrest, which was a misdiagnosis...because you see, you weren't flat-lining, Berenice-" I gasped softly; he used my name, my actual name-"Your heart was going too fast for the EKG to even register it."

We continued onward in the walk as he kept speaking and we had made it back to the room that I woke up in earlier. "Now, I'm not the most popular person around town these days but...Detective West and his daughter did give me permission to move you here where we stabilized you."

"Ah, Iris," I supplied him my foster sister's name.

"Iris? Yes, she came to see you the most out of all of your guests."

"She talks a lot," Caitlin said as she approached, passing Dr. Wells a drink.

"Also, she's hot!" Cisco added with a grin.

I rolled my eyes, used to hearing how 'hot' she was. It made it hard to get a date when we went out together. Speaking of..."Hey, did you guys call them to let them know that I was awake?" I asked.

Cisco and Caitlin both blinked before taking on sheepish and chagrined expressions. I'll take that as a no. "Right, I gotta go." I said and made my way around Dr. Wells' chair.

"No wait, you can't!" Caitlin called out behind me as I made my way back towards the hall. "No, Caitlin's right. Now that you're awake, we need to do more tests." Dr. Wells voice brought me to a pause, and I turned around to look at him. "You're still going through more changes. There's so much that we don't know." he said.

The earnest way he was looking at me made me falter for a moment, but my need to see my family outweighed my need to stay and do tests with the handsome man. "I'm sorry, but I really need to go see them and let them know I'm okay. If you grew up in Joe's house, you'd understand."

I slowly backed up and shot the three of them a small grin. "Look, I feel fine. Thank you for saving my life! I promise I'll come back!" I slipped around the corner but then quickly backed up to peer back into the room. "Can I keep the clothes?" I asked a bashfully.

Dr. Wells let out a sigh and quirked the corner of his lips up at me in a small smile. "Yeah, keep the clothes."

"Okay, thank you!"

8888

Okay, maybe I wasn't so okay after all.

I went by my apartment to change into some of my clothes before going to see Iris at Jitters. We hugged, we cried a little, but then things got weird.

While she was talking to me everything seemed to slow down for a moment. The waitress behind Iris was tripping in slow motion, and then it all sped up to normal with a literal crash. I took a shaky breath and followed Iris out of Jitters, trying to understand what the hell had just happened.

It happened again later when we joined up with Joe. He had just left to see to a robbery, I had just learned that his original partner was shot down the night of my accident. The new pretty-boy cop was his new partner, of all people. Then, I noticed that a perp was eyeing one of the officers holstered guns and made a move to grab it. Without even thinking, I rushed over to him and quickly pushed him forward so that he slammed into the desk. I was suddenly back in the place I was standing previously, and realized with a jolt, that it all happened in seconds.

I quickly bid farewell to Iris and waved off her concerns, telling her that I just needed fresh air. Then it went from weird to exhilarating and bizarre.

I was faster! So fast that everything was a blur, and the wind blowing through my hair and battering my face made me feel more free than I ever had before.

I had to get back to STAR Labs. I had to tell Dr. Wells what I could do.

Which is where I had just arrived. I had ran here and it only took me like five minutes. The drive earlier took like fifteen! I wasn't even freaking winded. I looked down at my hands with a grin and saw that they were shaking so much that they looked like they were vibrating. Huh.

I ran into the building and tried my best to go slow which probably looked to be a normal jog. I tried to go the same route I took out before and found all three of them in the same room as before, Caitlin and Cisco standing over Dr. Wells' shoulders reading off the same computer screen as them. Three pairs of eyes shot up to look at me upon my arrival.

"Okay, so you'll never guess what I just did!" I exclaim as I came to a stop a couple feet in front of them. Dr. Wells raised an eyebrow and smiled, successfully derailing my train of thought. "Oh? And what would that be, Ms. Allen? Nothing bad, I assume."

I gave him a wide grin and recounted what had happened, trying not miss a single detail.

8888

Well, I guess it's a good thing that all three of my saviors already saw me in my undergarments, because if not, this would take the cake on the most-embarrassing-state-of-attire-i've-ever-worn-in-front-of-strangers. And Harrison Wells. Fuck.

"How's it fit?" Cisco called from outside the door of the RV. He sounded more excited about this test than even I did.

I took a deep breath for courage and reluctantly walked out. "It's snug." I replied dryly.

"Well, at least you'll be moving so fast that no one will see you." He patted my arm with a grin. I guess that was meant to cheer me up. Didn't really work.

"See, you thought the world around you was slowing down, but it wasn't! You were just moving so fast that everything looked like it was standing still," Cisco explained and nodded over to where Dr. Wells and Caitlin were. "Dr. Wells is going to monitor you energy output, while Caitlin will monitor your vitals."

"Okay, and what do you do?" I asked and tilted my head to the side in curiosity.

He grinned at me and held up a circular piece of equipment with what looked like a gold lightning bolt on it. "I make all the toys! Check it-this is a two-way headset with a camera I've modified. Now these typically are designed to combat battlefield impulse noise, or in your case? Potential sonic booms. Which would be awesome!"

Cisco removed the helmet and goggles as Caitlin approached me and ran a hand through my newly cut hair. Caitlin had such a look of dismay when she found me in the bathroom earlier attempting to fix it back into my short pixie style. She begrudgingly helped layer it in the back for me.

I looked at her inquisitively as the doctor worked on the sensors on my suit. Suddenly our eyes locked.

"What?"

"Ah, nothing..." I blushed a little at being caught. "It's just that, it seems you don't smile a lot..."

Caitlin pushed her hair back with a sigh. "My once promising career in bio-engineering is over and my boss-" my eyes slid over to where Dr. Wells was working at his computer before cutting back to Caitlin. "-is in a wheelchair for life. My fiance died in the explosion that put you in a coma. So this black expression of mine feels like the way to go."

I tried to hide my grimace as she turned away. I just couldn't stop my mouth from running away from me today. Did I get brain damage from the stupid coma?

"Ms. Allen," Dr. Wells' voice had me turning over to look at him. "While I'm extremely eager to determine your full range of abilities, I do caution restraint."

"Yeah...okay." I nodded back to him with a shy smile before turning towards the starting point. Cisco ran back over with my head gear and patted me on the back for luck.

I got into position and looked back over my shoulder for one last glance of reassurance from Dr. Wells. He gave me a encouraging smile and slipped on a black pair of sunglasses. I faced back forward to hide my giddy grin. Without further ado, I tore down the runway.

The wind was so refreshing, and it was almost like I was flying across the ground instead of running. I was creating gusts of wind as I flew by. It was so liberating. I let out a whoop of excitement.

Then, I started to feel a foreign feeling creep in throughout my limbs, circulating through my veins, mixing in my blood. It was scarily close to how I felt when I got struck by the lightning, minus the pain. I started breathing a little harder, feeling another panic attack try to creep in, when my most traumatizing memory resurfaced.

The night my mother was murdered, surrounded by a swirling storm of red and gold lightning, and a form in yellow, and those red, glowing eyes...

I didn't see the barrels of water until it was too late.

8888

"It looks like you had a distal radius fracture," Caitlin explained, showing me the x-rays on the tablet.

"Had?" I asked uncertainly, rubbing my tender wrist.

"It's healed," she swiped back between two x-rays. "In three hours."

I raised my eyebrows in shock. "How is that even possible?"

"We...don't know." Caitlin paused before adding. "Yet."

"You really need to learn how to stop," Cisco teased as he walked by, holding up my damaged helmet.

I sheepishly ran a hand through my short brown hair as Dr. Wells wheeled up to me. "What happened out there? You were moving pretty well and then something caused you to lose focus."

I blushed a bit and shifted on the cot, crossing my legs in the process. I could of sworn the man's eyes tracked my movement, but it was probably just wishful thinking. "I think I started to remember something..." I started hesitantly. Dr. Wells raised his brows at me and moved his head inquisitively. I swallowed before I continued. "When I was eleven, my mother was murdered."

I bit my lip when I felt Cisco and Caitlin's gazes on me, and forced myself to continue. "It was late and I woke up to a noise. When I came downstairs I saw what looked like a ball of lightning, racing around my mom." My eyes were dancing around the room as I talked, before movement from Dr. Wells drew them back to him. The man had taken off his glasses and was looking at me intently. It felt like it was just the two of us in the room, and I opened up a bit more. "But inside that lightning...there was a man. He killed my mom." Slowly Dr. Wells slid his glasses back on, but continued to look into my eyes. "The police, they arrested my father and he's sitting in Iron Heights to this day. Everyone-the cops, the shrinks- they told me what I saw was impossible. But now, I wonder...what if that man was like me, somehow?"

"Well, I think I can say unequivocally you are one of a kind, Ms. Allen." Dr. Wells said, giving me a small smile.

I exhaled, nodding. Maybe I was...

8888

This was one of the longest days of my life.

After leaving STAR Labs again, I ran into Iris and Detective Thawne of all people, kissing. As her and I walked down the sidewalk she explained how it started, and that nobody knew yet. Especially Joe.

Then I heard the sirens.

Just like before, I saw everything slow down and quickly dove to the side with Iris to avoid the cars. I looked up at the speeding car driving by and my eyes widened at seeing a dead man at the wheel.

I sprinted after Mardon and crashed into the passenger seat. He looked at me with a confused sneer before reaching for his gun. I panicked and did the first thing that came to mind to stop him, and grabbed the steering wheel and tugged. We were rolling through the air instantly.

Then the dude poured fog out from his hands like no big deal and escaped, while I was left gapping at him.

Then a car crashed into the abandoned one behind me, the driver having not seen it through the thick fog. I felt fucking horrible. It was my fault.

Iris and I watched the body of the driver get carted away with heavy hearts. We were snapped out of our trance when Joe ran up.

"Berry! Iris,"

"I'm alright, Dad." he immediately turned to me.

"What the hell were you thinking, having her out here?" Joe scolded, and I shrank back in surprise.

"I-"

"Dad, we were walking and talking, catching up!" Iris protested. He rounded on her. "I have told you, you see danger, you run the other way. You are not a cop!"

"Because you would't let me!" Iris snapped back.

Iris would've made an excellent cop, if Joe had let her. I was certain. "Joe? I need to talk to you," I interjected, before they opened up that old argument.

"It can wait-"

"No. It can't." I insisted, and walked a bit away, expecting him to follow.

He did, and was now looking at me with an expectant look. "I saw who did this."

He blinked in surprise. "Think you could give us a sketch?"

"I don't need to. It was Clyde Mardon."

Joe rolled his eyes in exasperation and I couldn't help but bare my teeth in anger. Of course he doesn't even try to believe me. "Look, I know it sounds crazy and everyone thinks he died in a plane crash after the explosion at STAR Labs, but I saw him in the driver's seat as he was driving away from the scene!" His look of exasperation was mingling with disappointment now. I tried again. "And...I think something happened to him that night. Something...something that lets him control the weather. All the recent robberies, they happened during freak meteorological events and when I confronted him, the entire street was enveloped in that thick fog-"

My gut clenched painfully at the look on his face.

I scoffed and shook my head. "Of course you don't believe me." My spine stiffened and and I glared off to the side. "You never do."

"Okay, you want to do this now? Here?" Joe asked in aggravation. "Fine, Mardon is dead, Berry. There is no controlling the weather. Just like there was no lightning storm in your house that night. What you saw was the brain of a scared, traumatized little girl trying to make sense of witnessing her father kill her mother."

"My Dad didn't murder-" I tried to interject, my voice wavering with my own aggravation.

"Yes, he did!" He interrupted me, talking right over me. "He did-and I am sorry. I knew it, the jury knew it, and now he's paying for what he did. And you have to accept that, Berry."

"Dad, enough!" Iris cried out.

"No, Iris." Joe shook his head and I jerked my head to the side as he turned back to continue. "I have done my best to take care of you since that night, Berenice." I couldn't help but wince at the use of my full name. "I didn't ever ask for anything in return. Not a thank you, nothing. But what I am asking now is this: That you for once, see things in your life as they are."

I took a breath as I felt my face getting hot; not in embarrassment, but in anger and hurt. I walked away, fighting the urge to break into that blurring run. I ducked under the crime scene tape and thought I heard Iris calling for her, but didn't dare look back.

I should have known better than to tell what I saw. The fleeting thought to tell him what I could do had also flown out the window and didn't look back. That would just be the last straw for him. But...there was someone I could talk to, who already new what I'd become.

8888

The doors slid open, alerting the trio to my arrival. I managed to push down the anger and betrayal down to a simmer on the run here. There's no need to blow up on someone who didn't deserve it. I swept my green eyes over my three new companions before stopping at the man in the wheelchair.

"I wasn't the only one affected by the explosion that night, was I?" I asked Dr. Wells in a soft voice.

He took in a breath and exchanged a look with Caitlin. "We don't know for sure." he admitted.

"You said the city was safe, that there was no residual danger, but that's not true is it? What really happened?" I asked softer still.

"Well," Dr. Wells looked to the other two again, both of whom looked away. "The accelerator went active, we all felt like heroes...and then it went wrong." Dr. Wells was jabbing at the tablet on his wheelchair, bringing up a display on one of the room's many screens for me to see. "When the explosion happened, a dimensional barrier ruptured, unleashing unknown energies into our world-dark matter, anti-matter, X-elements-"

"Those are all theoretical!" I interrupted, whirling back at him, eyes narrowed.

"And how theoretical are you, Ms. Allen?" he asked in a silky tone that had a hint of something dangerous layered underneath. I blushed and bit my lip.

"We've mapped dispersion throughout and around Central City, but we have no way of knowing who or what was exposed. We've been searching for other Meta-humans, like yourself."

"Meta-humans...?" I whispered.

"That's what we're calling them," Caitlin informed.

"I saw one today," I said, willing to keep my voice from rising. "He's a bank robber, and he can control the weather."

"This just keeps getting cooler!" Cisco said with an excited grin.

The anger and guilt that has been festering ever since I saw the poor dead man being carted away to the morgue, finally burst through. They were treating this all like a goddamn experiment!

"This is not cool!" I snapped, practically vibrating from the crackling emotions running through me. "All right?! A man died today!"

Cisco looked reasonably chagrined and looked down. I turned my attention back to Dr. Wells, and tried to calm down. "Mardon must have gotten his powers the same way I did-from that storm cloud. He's still out there and we have to stop him before he hurts anyone else."

I turned away, about to storm out the door. I would do this alone if I had to. Without any of them!

"Berenice. That's a job for the police." I froze mid-step at hearing Dr. Wells using my full name, and quickly twirled around to meet his gaze. "I work for the police."

"As a forensic assistant."

My jaw clenched in frustration. "You're responsible for this. For him."

"What's important is you!" He snapped, his blue eyes sharpening in anger. "Not me. I lost everything. My company. My reputation. My freedom!" His fist clenched, banging on the arm of the wheelchair. "And then you broke your arm and it healed in three hours. Inside your body could be a map to a whole new world of genetic therapy, vaccines, treasures, Berenice. All that resides deep within your cells and we cannot risk losing that because you want to go off and play hero!"

I trembled as he took a breath and continued. "You're not a hero. You are a young woman that got struck by lightning."

8888

As I ran, I recalled.

Remembered being a little girl running up to my house, my father being dragged away in handcuffs.

I remembered slipping inside anyway. Of Joe's voice rumbling as I made my way to the covered body of my mother. Of pulling the material back and calling for her...

...of Joe pulling me away.

I came to a skidding halt outside the sign announcing Starling City in five miles. My jacket was sparking, catching fire and I pulled it off hurriedly.

There was only one person that could possibly help me. Now I just had to find him and tell him everything.

And when I found him off that roof top...I did. Everything. The coma, the speed, meeting my favorite person, the argument with Joe...

"So why come to me?" the Arrow asked, turning to look at me fully. "Something tells me you didn't run six-hundred miles just to vent to a friend."

"...all my life...I have wanted to do more. Be more. And now that I am, I screw it up...I always screw it up...and a guy died because of that. I was trying so hard to stop Mardon and that poor man... What if Wells is right? What if I'm not a hero...and I'm just some girl struck by lightning...?"

"I don't think that bolt of lightning struck you, Berry," he said. "I think it chose you."

"I'm not like you, Oliver," I whispered. "I'm not cut out to be a...a vigilante."

"No," he agreed. "Not a vigilante. Something better. Because you, Berry Allen, can inspire people, in a way I never could. Watching over your city like a guardian angel, making a difference by saving people...in a flash. Take the advice you gave me – wear a mask."

I smiled at the man in gratitude, and my heart couldn't help but skip a beat when he smiled back.

8888

I ran back home and immediately went to STAR Labs in search of Caitlin and Cisco. I swallowed my pride and asked them to help me stop Mardon, and thankfully they were reluctant to do nothing as more lives were put in danger. Cisco hooked me up with a suit to deal with the friction, and Caitlin found where Mardon was currently.

'Shit, Joe!" Eddie looked was laying next to my foster father by their car. Suddenly, a piece of debris came flying towards them. Without a second thought, I hurled myself towards it and slammed into, knocking us both off course.

The roof was partially on top of me and I pushed it off with a grunt before climbing back to my feet. I tried reajusting the suit's respirator before deeming it a lost cause and just ripped it off.

"Berry?" Cisco's voice came over the earpiece. "Berry! Wind speeds are two-hundred miles per hour and increasing. Berry, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, loud and clear."

"If this keep up it can become and F5 tornado..." Cisco cautioned.

"Its headed towards the city! How do I stop it?!" I watched in frustration at the tower of twisting wind and debris. "...what if I unravel it?"

"How the hell are you going to do that?!" Caitlin demanded.

"I'll...I'll run in its opposing direction, cut its legs off."

"She'd have to clock seven-hundred miles per hour to do that!" I heard Cisco telling Caitlin.

"Your body might not be able to handle those speeds – you'll die!"

I gritted my teeth; I could see Joe from the corner of my eye. "I have to try."

With that I was gone in a blur of red wreathed in golden lightning, racing towards the tornado. Immediately I swerved, circling it in the opposing direction of the tornado's swirling winds.

Faintly I could hear the voices of Cisco and Caitlin through my concentration.

"The suit's holding up!"

"But she's not!"

"She can do it – I know she can do it!"

Cisco's words gave me a much needed boost of confidence, but Icould see him...see Mardon...in the tornado's eye. And he was watching me, watching me race around his monster trying to unravel it. Mardon lashed out with a hand and lightning flashed, striking me and knocking me off the path I had started.

She skidded across the ground, crying out in pain before coming to a halt. 'I'm getting really tired of getting hit by fucking lightning.'

"He's too strong!" I cried out.

"You can do this, Berenice." It was not a voice I had expected and a shiver went down my spine as Dr. Wells said my name directly in my ear. "You were right. I am responsible for all of this. So many people have been hurt, because of me. And when I looked at you...all I saw was a potential victim of my hubris. And yes, Berenice...I did create this madness, but you...you can stop it. You can do this. Now run! Berenice, run!"

I flung herself forward at that command, a blur of red and gold, cutting a swath to the tornado once more. Once more circling the tornado, I poured everything I could into my speed. All the pent up anger and frustration I've felt since waking, of being talked down to by Joe and Dr. Wells...everything.

I moved faster than I had before. The winds ripped at me and I could hear Mardon's scream of outrage as after what felt like days...the tornado collapsed in on itself and the winds subsided.

"Berry?" Caitlin called out.

I was on my knees panting for breath; I could feel the breeze whipping through hair and on my face.

"Hey!" The yell was Mardon and I spun around. He was walking towards me, a gun in hand. He lifted it, leveling it at my chest. "I didn't think there was anyone else like me."

"No..." I panted, shaking my head. "I'm not like you. I'm not a murderer."

He was about to fire when shots rang out and it was Mardon that fell. I jerked around to see the figure of Joe skidding down an embankment.

"Berry!" Caitlin's call was insistent.

"...its alright. I'm fine. Its over," I sighed as I staggered back to my feet. Well, attempted to. I fell back to the ground, my legs like limp noodles as Joe approached.

I braced myself even as he fell to his knees before where I sat. Peeking at him from beneath my eyelashes, I remained as taunt as a bow-string, ready to try running once more.

...he almost looked ready to cry as he stared at her...

8888

It was daylight when he spoke to me. The scene was being cleared and I had changed out of the suit and back into my own clothing.

"What you can do...it was the lightning bolt?"

"...more or less," I murmured.

"I'm sorry, Berry," he said; they were words I had never really expected to hear. Not from him, or anyone. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you. That I called you crazy for chasing the impossible..."

He looked at me. "...but you really did see something that night, when your mom died..."

I nodded.

"Your dad...he is innocent..."

There was a relief, as weight slid off my lean body. That was all I had ever wanted to hear him say...

"Listen to me...you have to make me a promise. I don't want you telling Iris about this...about anything you can do. Any of it. I want her safe. One of you has to be safe. Promise me."

"...Alright..."

8888

I hated Iron Heights. Hated it fiercely...but at least I had a moment to visit with my father...even though we had to talk over these phones, see each other through that glass...

"Hey, Pumpkin."

"You always call me that..." I murmured and he chuckled. "...I got into a fight today."

"You got out of a coma, I don't think you should be picking fights," Henry said in concern, peering at me through the glass. "...did you win?"

I smiled with a little too much teeth. "Yeah."

There was a pause as he grinned at me before I continued. "...I know you didn't kill Mom. You know I know that, right?"

"You believing me is all I need, pumpkin."

"You won't be here much longer," I promised. "Whoever...whatever...killed Mom...I think I have a way to find them, to stop them."

"Berry, we've talked about this. You've got to stop worrying, live your life – find a nice man and start a family-"

"I'm not giving up. I...I actually feel alive. For so long I feel like I've been stuck in one place since Mom died...but now...I'm different now. I've made some new friends. And they're helping me find my way...to finally move forward... Remember when you wanted me to change my name? Take Mom's name so people wouldn't know you're my Dad? But I'm so proud to be your daughter."

"I love you, baby girl."

"Love you too, Dad."