Derek stood atop a tall building as the moon shone onto the city below.
He was quiet, scouring the city as if he were looking for something.
'Jeez, how much longer do I have to wait?'
Derek complained, taking a seat on the edge of the building.
He'd been waiting a few hours.
And though he chose to recall all the events of this episode by paying for it in the shop, watching it on screen and living it were two different things.
However, knowing it was near, Derek pulled up the bandana on his neck.
'These clothes the slime made for me are great.'
He chose to dump his previous clothes since they were the same ones he wore when meeting Flash.
But he was glad he did.
He wore a hoodie, cargo pants, sneakers, a baseball cap and a bandana around the lower half of his face.
Warmth, comfortability, flexibility. It was as if the clothes were made of the highest quality material that provided anything you'd need.
However, it did little to protect his body. The slime was imitated to look like clothes, and it did that to the best of its ability.
Giving the clothes extra layers of protection wasn't something it could do.
'Not yet, at least. Who knows what other wonders it'll present as it levels up.'
-VUAA!!!
Derek instantly leapt back, hiding behind the ledge of the building as he peered at the familiar sound.
He witnessed a humanoid figure in red and black armour and propulsors shooting blue energy on his back and calves shooting through the air at high speeds.
And though Derek couldn't see it very well in the dark, he could almost hear the BZZZZ of the swarm of bees shooting after him.
'There he is. Ray Palmer, the Atom.'
Breathing in, Derek got ready as he leapt off the building.
***
"Okay, Cisco. Now what?"
The metal man shooting through the air spoke, turning every so often as he shot a blue plasma blast, hitting the countless bees chasing him.
But they didn't seem to lessen.
"Ray, get to the ocean. If the bots follow you into the water their electronics will fry."
Ray nodded, "Got it," replied as his expression contorted into a confused one in the next second.
"Wait, so will my suit."
Cisco gave no reply as Ray trusted the latter, the bed of water in the distance coming closer and closer.
-SPLASH
Taking a deep breath, Ray dived in with perfect form.
And as planned, so did the bees.
-BZZZZ
Electricity crackled on the surface of the water as the bees rose to the surface like dead fish.
And in the next second…
-BOOM
Ray shot out from the water, gasping for air as he was quick to speak.
"Cisco, I'm fried! I'm losing propulsion control." Ray yelled in between his heaving, electricity crackling around his suit.
"Do you see the van?" Cisco asked, causing Ray to squint despite his visor being wet.
"I do." He replied, seeing the van labelled "Star Labs" on its side barrelling down the road.
"We'll catch you."
"You will?" Ray asked.
"We will?" A female on Cisco's side asked as well.
"We will," Cisco confirmed.
"Alright." Ray agreed reluctantly, aiming for the van as he started to lose altitude.
-BANG
The van's side door swung open as a man with long black hair and hawk-like eyes locked eyes with Ray.
"I see him," He yelled back to a female with long blonde hair, both her hands on the steering wheel.
"Steady, Ray."
Cisco yelled to Ray. Due to the angle at which he was coming down and the boost from the propulsors that barely worked, he was coming down at a rapid speed.
However, hearing Ray yell out but not being able to quite catch it, he leaned in.
But he paused as his eyes widened.
"Hey, Ray…slow down!"
Only now, as he was moving back, did he catch what Ray had been yelling.
"I can't!"
-CLANG!!!
-BANG!!!
Like a meteor, Ray crashed into the van, barely missing Cisco, hitting the other side of the van and leaving a large dent shaped like himself.
However, due to the speed he was going and the weight of his suit, it was too much for the van to handle as it flipped into the air.
It hit a metal fence, easily blasting through as it tumbled down a small hill, finally stopping a few seconds later.
***
"...Cisco…Cisco…Cisco!"
"GAH!"
Cisco shot his eyes open as he winced, pressing his hand against his forehead and seeing his fingers dyed in a crimson red colour.
"Cisco, are you alright?" Cisco turned his head, blinking a few times as he tried to focus his vision.
As he did, he witnessed Ray, his visor broken and still wet, over a trapped and unconscious Caitlin.
"I need some help, she's stuck."
Cisco widened his eyes as the adrenaline kicked in. He ignored the pain he was feeling, oblivious to which side the Van was on.
He crawled to the two he was able to get a better look, seeing Caitlin's body pressed between the driver's seat and the dashboard of the car that had caved inward.
"I don't see any blood, that's good." Cisco pressed his hand on her body, checking for anything wet.
"I don't think that's our biggest problem."
-WAAAA!!!!
Cisco and Ray's eyes widened, so surprised their eyes didn't even squint at the intense light of the incoming train that would reach them in only a dozen seconds.
"Get her out, quick!" Cisco yelled as the two worked together.
Ray used whatever strength his suit had left to pull the caved-in dashboard off Caitlin while Cisco used all the strength he had left to pull.
'I didn't see any railways on my way down…'
Ray couldn't help but think as he struggled.
All while this happened, the train neared, its movement making the very van shake while it wailed.
"Cisco, you gotta go," Ray spoke in a strained tone while pushing.
"I'm…not leaving." The bloody Cisco replied as their eyes couldn't help but steer to the train which was only seconds away.
However, this time, as they looked, they simultaneously witnessed the silhouette of a figure standing before the train.
His shadow was cast over them as he stared.
Additionally, the sound seemed to have woken the unconscious Caitlin as she slowly opened her eyes, also witnessing the figure standing before them.
They all stayed quiet as they froze.
Perhaps it was because they had given up upon seeing the train so close, or perhaps they felt something they so desperately needed in their dire situation.
Hope.
-BLOP!!!
An obsidian sphere rose in the air over the figure and in the next second, it exploded as its form changed and transformed into the very tracks they stood on.
It stretched out over them, creating an arc that ended behind the van and started before the figure until the train finally arrived.
-WAAAA!!!
-CLANG!!!
The figure's upper body suddenly jolted down as if a ton had dropped onto his back. Despite this, he stayed on his feet with both arms spread out.
-CHUG CHUG CHUG!!!
The train barrelled over them, the sound of this arguably worse than its previous wailing as everything became dark in the absence of the train's light.
Ray stared at the mysterious figure as they seemingly struggled while Cisco exhaled a heavy breath that felt as though it had been trapped in him for decades.
However, Caitlin had a weak smile as she continued to stare at the figure.
And finally, the train passed them.
"GAH!"
The others could almost hear the exasperation the figure let out as he dropped to one knee.
They all stared, the silence of the night finally prevailing once again as their hyperventilated breaths were all that entered nearby ears.
The figure turned to them, and with this, they seemingly snapped out of their trance as they watched him walk toward them.
Hopping on the front of the car, his larger-than-normal hand, clad in the same obsidian, SMASHED through the windshield, tearing it off.
Only now were they able to get a better look.
With a black bandana over his lower face, a baseball cap and a hoodie, the figure stared at them with bright green eyes that seemed like the closest thing to a light source.
"H-Hi…"
Cisco muttered, unsure what to think upon seeing the peculiar attire.
Ray, taking the forefront, too hesitant of the man's intentions, narrowed his eyes.
However, he paused as the figure held out his hand in support without saying a word.
Ray froze for a second with raised eyebrows, taking his hand in the next second as the figure helped get him out.
He then did the same with Cisco who was a little more hesitant for a different reason.
"My friend, she's stuck."
The figure's eyes turned to Caitlin who had her eyes barely open.
Her eyelids half shut, she looked up to the figure, or rather, a dark silhouette in her eyes, speaking with a faint smile.
"Barry…"
The two paused as Cisco slightly glanced at the figure to see if he'd noticed this.
But the figure paid no mind to it, making him sigh in relief.
Taking his abnormally large obsidian hand, the figure dug it into the dashboard, pulling it back from Caitlin.
Caitlin took a deep breath with her lungs finally freed as Cisco and the figure pulled her out of the van, into safety.
The figure gave them space as Cisco checked on her condition and Ray walked toward him.
"I don't know who you are…and I don't care." He started, reaching out his metallic hand with a look of sincerity and respect.
"Thank you."
The figure didn't say anything, pausing as Ray patiently waited.
However…
-STOMP
Ray blinked as he witnessed the figure before him kick off the ground.
The figure dashed toward Cisco as the latter slowly looked up, bringing his hands up to guard the sudden rush.
However, he dropped to the ground as the figure tackled him.
With the figure atop him, Cisco tried to get him off, protecting himself as he struggled.
However, he paused upon witnessing the figure press his two fingers on his neck, snatching a small black and yellow insect from his neck.
With a little force, he pinched it as it sparked, turning into dust.
Cisco saw this, slowly looking back to the figure who seemed calmer, the former's face slowly changing to one of understanding.
However, to Ray, whose visor was still wet and cracked, he didn't see this small detail.
Therefore…
"Get off him!"
Ray shot toward the figure, throwing his entire heavy body at him in a shoulder bash.
The figure quickly looked back as Cisco wasn't able to get the words out in time.
-BANG!!!
The figure raised both arms in an X-shape, blocking the attack from hitting any vitals.
However, he was too weak and unable to keep his footing.
And so, he jumped up as the attack launched him into the sky like a catapult, avoiding the van behind him he would've smashed into.
"Ray…" Cisco was barely able to get out a word to explain before he and Ray noticed the obsidian thread clung to the former's chest, leading back to the figure's hand.
-WHOOSH
Without warning, Ray was yanked into the air by the figure, sent shooting through the air over him and into the far train tracks with a SMASH!!!
"No, wait, it's just a misunderstanding!" Cisco yelled but to no avail.
The two were too far away and as he stood to race to them, his eyes fell on the unconscious Caitlin and his expression became one of discomfort.
During all this…
-BLOP!!!
An obsidian slide was conjured as the figure slid down, his feet hitting the ground with a small BANG.
He rose to his feet as the dust before him cleared, revealing Ray, his previous sincerity gone, replaced with a look of frustration and slight anger.
"Why'd you do that? I thought you were one of the good guys."
But he was given no reply as he clicked his teeth, his suit glowing as the sound similar to a computer staring rang out.
'I don't have much, maybe a few more plasma blasts. I need to beat him with that much.'
Ray thought, preparing as he bent his knees and narrowed his eyes.
As for the figure? Well, a single thought ran through his mind.
'All according to plan.'