EXPEDITE ▇▇▇▇ VOLUME ONE
━━ ❛ 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 ❜

chapter no. 008!

     PIPER LITA DIDN'T KNOW WHAT SHE WAS FEELING. Sure, she'd seen the adorable CSI hurt before, but not like this. All those other times, she was behind a screen, watching from the outside in on a world she wished she could be part of. Now that she was a part of it, everything felt much more consuming and overwhelming. What happened to the people around her affected her. What happened to Barry Allen affected her.

     She'd only been in contact with the team for over a week, but standing at the end of the hospital bed in S.T.A.R. Labs made her feel as if she'd been with them forever— been with him forever.

     Not in that sense, obviously. That wasn't possible. That wouldn't happen. Her luck wasn't that good.

     "If Barry dies, you die! This is on you!" Joe West yelled, slamming Harry Wells into the side of a glass window.

     Caitlin whirled around from checking on the unconscious hero, her eyes landing on the men. "Joe! His vitals have stabilized. Let's let him go."

     "No, Caitlin," the detective responded, his eyes never leaving Harry's.

     "Why? What good does that do for Barry?" she asked, throwing her hands out to her sides. Piper sighed, exhausted both mentally and emotionally.

     "It's going to help me," Joe seethed, his eyes narrowing.

     Cisco approached the two, a frown engraved on his lips. "Joe, stop it. Who's Jesse?" he asked Harry, who turned to him.

     Pushing Joe's hand off his shoulder, the scientist stepped forward, grabbing Cisco by his shoulders. "How do— Jesse's my daughter. Zoom has her. Y-You did vibe me earlier."

     "Yes."

     "What did you see?"

     Cisco stepped back. "I saw your daughter. She's with Zoom."

     "But she's alive?" Harry asked desperately, blinking several times. The long-haired boy nodded, causing him to sigh in relief.

     Joe looked between them, eyes wide. "Zoom sent you here like the others? You kill the Flash, and you get your daughter back?!"

     Harry's eyes snapped to the detective. "The only way I get my daughter back is I capture Zoom. Do you understand? You love Barry. I love my daughter." His fist hit the window, causing Joe to flinch involuntarily. "And none of these children are safe as long as Zoom is here. I tried on my Earth to capture him. I failed. I thought I could bring him down here with Barry's help. I was wrong."

     Everyone was deathly silent as Harry huffed, stalking out of the Cortex.

     Piper turned her attention back to the bed, staring at Barry with glistening eyes.

     He was going to be okay.

────

𝙏𝙃𝙍𝙀𝙀 𝘿𝘼𝙔𝙎 𝙇𝘼𝙏𝙀𝙍. . .

     THE PURPLE SPEEDSTER HAD ONLY LEFT S.T.A.R. LABS FOUR TIMES SINCE THE FIGHT BETWEEN ZOOM AND THE FLASH. Once to go home, shower, and sleep for only three hours because of how worried she was. Twice to go to work. Lastly, to shower one more time before heading back today.

     "How was work?" Caitlin asked as she walked into the side room where Barry was still unconscious on the hospital bed.

     Piper looked up from where she was on the other side of the bed; she'd been staring at the brown-haired man lying in front of her. "Long, but I brought back food for everyone." She pointed to the two large paper bags on the desk across the room.

     "And that is why I love you," Cisco stated, running and looking through the bags. Both women chuckled, and he handed Caitlin a box of food, digging into his. Piper turned her attention to the speedster and rested her chin on her hand, her chocolate brown eyes never straying from his figure.

     "You care about him a lot, don't you?" the doctor asked, her and Cisco watching the redhead.

     Glancing away from Barry, Piper looked at Caitlin. "I care about all of you a lot."

     Nodding, both scientists continued eating silently.

     "It's different, though, with Barry. Isn't it?" Cisco spoke up, smirking as the speedster furrowed her brows. "You don't have to explain it to us, but we know." Turning her head, she eyed the two grinning friends.

     A rustling from the bed distracted her, and Piper twisted to see Barry finally waking up. Immediately getting to her feet, she moved closer to the bed, and Cisco and Caitlin followed suit. "Hey," she whispered, and Barry's gaze settled on her, a small smile growing on his face.

     "Hey."

     Their eyes stayed locked for a moment.

     "You scared the hell out of us," Cisco breathed, walking around to the other side of the bed.

     "How long was I out?" Barry asked, looking away from his fellow speedster. His voice was low and husky, which gave Piper the chills.

     "For a while. If you didn't heal so quickly, I'd be worried." Caitlin spoke up, appearing beside Piper.

     "How's Doctor Light?" he asked next, already worrying about what he missed.

     "We don't know. After you saved her, she ran off. Nobody's seen her." Piper answered softly.

     Sighing, he nodded. "Zoom?" he asked, and both of his best friends glanced over at the silent redhead. Following their gazes, he looked over at Piper. She avoided his eyes and played with her hands nervously.

     "Let's worry about Zoom when you're up and about, okay?" Cisco asked, knowing that if they told Barry what Zoom said to Piper, it would only result in him hurting himself more. He placed his hand on his best friend's leg and squeezed it comfortingly.

     Barry's eyebrows drew in as he slowly sat up. Piper quickly moved forward, placing her hand on his bare chest, ignoring the spark of energy that danced through her body. "Lay back down. You need to rest," she said, but he shook his head.

     "I can't feel my legs," Barry spoke, also ignoring the spark of energy that her touch gave him. "Guys, I can't feel my legs."

────

     "ACCORDING TO THE MRI, THERE'S A COMPLETE DISLOCATION AT THE T12 TO L1 INTERSPACE OF THE THORACOLUMBAR JUNCTION," Caitlin pointed to the X-ray scans that she'd taken of Barry's spine nearly two hours ago. The brown-haired man nodded, leaning back into his pillow.

     The hospital bed had been propped up so Barry could sit up properly, which, according to Dr. Snow, would help stretch out his spine.

     "Do you have any idea when he can be walking again?" Joe asked from the doorway, his hands resting inside his pockets.

     Placing the X-rays down, Caitlin shrugged. "At the soonest, I would say a week. A normal person would be paralyzed for the rest of their life, but with his healing abilities, he'll be okay. It's just going to take a while."

     Piper looked at Barry from where she sat in the chair next to his bed. Ever since he'd woken up, she hadn't left his side, which he didn't mind. He enjoyed her company.

     The sound of heels running entered the Cortex, and everyone looked to see Iris West walking in. "I came as soon as I got off work," she breathed. "I'm so glad you're finally awake. You had me worried. Oh my gosh! You must be Piper Lita, the new speedster from Earth-Four," the reporter spoke, noticing the gorgeous redhead beside Barry as she entered the side-room.

     Piper felt her cheeks burn as she nodded, standing up. "I take it someone told you about me," she smiled.

     God, Erin's going to be so jealous.

     "Yeah, Barry was rambling on about you at lunch a few days ago—" Barry cleared his throat, shooting her a glare. "It's great to meet you finally. You're a lot prettier than Cisco and Barry described you. Not that they said you weren't pretty. They said you were stunning, and now that I see you, I can understand why they said that." Iris replied, a bright smile still on her face.

     Piper's cheeks were scarlet red. "Oh, uh, thank you," she murmured as Barry glared at Iris.

     "Does anyone want food? 'Cause I'm starving and need something to eat," Cisco announced.

     Joe chuckled, nodding in agreement. "I'll drive," the detective offered.

     "Joe, you're the real MVP. We'll be back!" Cisco waved, both he and Joe heading out of the Cortex.

     Iris walked up to the hospital bed, giving Barry a comforting smile. "So," she started, glancing over to the woman that had sat back down. "How'd you get your speed? Was there a particle accelerator explosion on your Earth too?"

     Piper chuckled, shaking her head. "On January seventh, twenty-ten, an explosion at Brenner Labs took out seven blocks. A lot of homes and businesses were destroyed. Hundreds of people were involved in peculiar accidents at the time of the explosion and were affected by the dark matter that came from the lab. I happened to be one of those people. I was struck by lightning while trying to help a man whose car broke down on the side of the road. I was messing with some of the wirings, and when the explosion hit, it emitted purple lightning across the city, and I ended up being struck. I was in a coma for six months, and when I woke up, my city had been taken over by meta-humans, and it became my goal to get the city back."

     "What set off the explosion?" Barry asked. This was the first time he had heard the purple speedster mention when and how she got her speed.

     Glancing over at the brown-haired man, she sighed quietly. "According to the police, someone had left an Experitron Lumination Modificator Engine on that night at the lab. The Experitron overheated and exploded. The rays and scraps from the device struck a beam inside the lab, which caused it to cave in on itself. When it caved in, a bunch of different chemicals was spilled and mixed with the chemicals from the Experitron, causing the explosion."

     Caitlin's eyebrows drew in as she stared at the redhead. "What's an Experitron Lumination Modificator Engine? I've never heard of that."

     "Neither have I," Barry added.

     "It's a piece of technology that doesn't exist here on your Earth. Essentially, it's a solar-powered battery that extracts energy from the moving particles around it and acts as a catalyst for accelerated Internet speed. Doctor Eli McLean, the owner of Brenner Labs, created it for low-income families who can't afford Internet or access to it." Piper explained.

     The other three nodded.

     "Barry told me you've been here since the night he met Reverse Flash for the first time," Iris stated, and Piper nodded. "That's almost a whole year. Don't you miss your parents? And friends?"

     Piper looked down at her hands, shrugging. At the mention of her parents, her whole demeanor changed. The color drained her cheeks, and she appeared nearly lifeless. "Both of my parents are dead, actually," she answered.

     Barry's ears perked, and he frowned, looking at the woman beside him whose head was down. He knew firsthand how it felt not to have their parents around.

     "I'm so sorry," Iris apologized. "I didn't know."

     Piper glanced up, giving her a small smile. "It's all right. Don't worry about it."

     Caitlin placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. Piper smiled gratefully at the doctor, placing her hand on top of hers.

     "You already know this, but my mom is dead, and I grew up without her and my father since he was in prison. So, I know how it feels not to have them around. If you ever want to talk to someone, I'm here." Barry offered hesitantly.

     Piper looked at him and tilted her head, giving him a slight smile. "Thank you, Barry."

     Iris looked over at Caitlin, raising her brows and nodding discretely towards the two speedsters whose eyes were locked. The doctor met her stare, smiling knowingly. Without words, the two both knew what the heroes didn't: there was something between them.