Post by C_Miller on Jul 26, 2011 4:58:58 GMT -5
Ultimate Flash #5
The Secret Life of Barry Allen
Six Years Later. October 22, 1999. Keystone City, Kansas
A man dressed in a simple brown business suit with yellow shirt, striped bow tie and a matching hat anxiously walked up to a door that was labeled “Dr. Samantha J. Guice M.D.: Psychiatrist” and hesitantly opened it. “Um, hello, I think I have an appointment.”
“Name?” The receptionist asked in what sounded more like a statement than an question without looking up from her computer as she loudly chomped on a piece of gum.
He slowly took his hat off and held it to his chest. “Doctor Barry Allen.”
The name caused her to slowly look up and stare at him over her glasses condescendingly. “You’re late. The doctor will see you now. Down the hall, first door on the left.”
He nodded and followed her directions. When he reached the room, he entered the open door and saw what he thought was far too luxurious to be a doctor’s office, psychiatrist or not. It looked more like the library that he frequented as a young boy complete with bookshelves lining the walls, several big comfortable couches strewn across the room and a full fireplace in one corner of the room.
“Erm… Dr. Guice?”
A woman who looked to be in her late 20s in a plaid business suit and her raven hair tied back in a tight bun came towards him from another part of the room. “Good of you to finally join us.” Barry tried to speak but she quickly cut him off. “I don’t care. Will you please over there?”
He dutifully nodded and walked over to the couch near the fireplace. Dr. Guice followed closely behind him, monitoring him as he walked. When they were both seated across from each other, Dr. Guice took out a small note bad from her breast pocket. “So, do you know why you’re here?”
“Doctor, with all due respect, this is where the force sends beat cops who shoot someone on the street and they have trouble dealing with it… I haven’t killed anyone.” He explained, choosing his words very carefully.
With a bit of a shocked expression on her face, Dr. Guice responded. “Well, with all due respect, for a Doctor yourself, you have a very narrow view of what I actually do.”
Barry gulped and wiped his brow clean of sweat with the brim of his hat that he had still clutched to his chest.
“Dr. Allen, your police chief, Commissioner Hotchkiss has been trying to get you here for nearly five years… he’s worried about you.”
“Oh really? I didn’t know.” He lied. He could tell Dr. Guice wasn’t buying it by the look on her face.
She slowly nodded. “And he’s not the only one, he’s just the only one that can mandate these appointments. People who have known you for years including your partner Detective Fred Chyre are concerned over your behavior…”
“Fred’s known me for years, since I was a kid. What have I done recently?”
“That’s exactly it. Detective Chyre has known you your entire life, he of all people should know if something is different about you.”
Barry began to squirm on the couch and he started playing with his thumbs to prevent himself from showing her that he was sweating by wiping it away. “Erm, Have you um… spoken with my wife?”
“We’ll discuss her later… it seems that all of this can be linked back to the plane crash you were in… Dr. Allen would you please describe that for me?” She asked him as she wrote down his overall mood on her note pad.
Before she could finish her question he began to shake his head violently. “I’d rather not, ma’am.”
She looked up at him again and raised her eyebrow at his unusual response. “Very well. Why don’t you tell me why you left the F.B.I.”?
***
Washington D.C. September 10, 1993
“Ah, Special Agent Allen. Is the Assistant Director expecting you? I didn’t think we’d be seeing you so soon.” Kate Maurer, the secretary for Assistant Director Walter Skinner asked him while she thumbed through his day planner.
Barry nonchalantly shook his head. “No, I just thought I’d come up and touch base with him.”
“Understandable. He’s currently in a meeting with Division Chief Blevins and Special Agent Scully, but they should be out soon, if you want to wait.” She told him as she lightly wrote his name in pencil between Dana Scully and Dalton Van Savage. He took a seat in the office, picking up a newspaper and began to read. “We were all really heartbroken to hear about Agent Quinn. We know you were really fond of her.”
“Yeah, she was a sweet kid.” He pictured her getting shot in the head in slow motion by Dr. Thawyne and winced. “I don’t know what happened, I was knocked out cold by the crash… I didn’t even have a chance to save her.”
A silence fell between the two, but the door soon opened up and Division Chief Scott Blevins walked out followed by two other men, one smoking a cigarette who were in turn followed by a young looking FBI Agent with flaming red hair that rivaled Iris’s. “Barry?” She exclaimed with a bit of surprise as she ran up and hugged him.
“Dana! How are you?” He stood up and returned the hug.
She rolled her eyes with a bit of a laugh. “They actually just reassigned me from the forensics division to… The X-Files… with Spooky Mulder.” Barry feigned a disgusted reaction, causing her to chuckle. “My God, I don’t think I’ve seen you since…”
“Since graduation. Feels so long ago.”
“It does… when I heard about the plane crash I was constantly praying and when I heard about you all being found so soon afterwards, I was so relieved… well I wish we could talk more. I have to go down and meet him. You going to be in DC long?”
Barry shook his head. “Unfortunately not. I’m catching a red eye back to Keystone City tonight.”
“Well can you do dinner?”
He mulled it over for a second and then soon nodded. “Yeah, I think I could do that. I’m staying at the Watergate. Meet me there at five-thirty?”
“Sounds like a date.” She kissed him on the cheek goodbye and walked out of the room with a visible skip in her step. Barry dreaded that he would have to tell his ex-girlfriend, his first serious relationship about Iris. He decided he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
With the office clear, Barry walked in and politely waved at A.D. Skinner who was currently on the phone, holding one finger up at Allen. Barry sat down on a chair at his desk and before long he hung up to give Barry his undivided attention. “What can I do for you Agent Allen?”
“I wish to tender my resignation.”
The typically stoic man reflexively pushed his chair back in shock. “What? Why?”
“I was recruited out of medical school because my mentor decided to kill people using science that we developed together. Right now he’s lying at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean… I don’t think I’m needed anymore.” Barry tried to state as matter-of-factly as humanly possible.
Skinner wasn’t convinced. He put his face in his hands and began to shake his head. “You’re a hell of an agent.”
“Thank you, Sir, but this plane crash has led to some self-reflection. Life’s too short and I need to start doing things for myself. I need to go back to Keystone City.”
He gave Barry a confused look. “I can just assign you to the Central City field office.”
“No… look, I got a job offer from a friend with the Keystone City Police Department… I think I need to do that for a while.” Barry stated calmly while keeping his eyes fixated on Skinner’s.
Skinner sighed as he took the letter that Barry handed him. “It pains me to do this, but here you go.” He signed the form and held his hand out for Barry. Barry shook it firmly and silently he got up to leave the office. “It’s been a pleasure working with you, Dr. Allen.”
“You too, Sir.”
***
October 22, 1999. Keystone City, Kansas
“I suppose that’s understandable. So you immediately returned to Keystone. Why didn’t you go back into medicine?” She looked up at him after she had finished writing her thoughts in her notebook.
Barry moved his arm up and scratched the back of his neck. “I guess I wasn’t sure where to start. I had been out of school for nearly six years, I guess I thought law enforcement was all I knew.”
She didn’t say anything, but simply nodded. “Now. Your co-workers, even some who didn’t know you before the job feel like you’ve become despondent and distant from social interactions. Do you have trouble relating to people?”
“I’m married…”
***
March 5, 1994. Keystone City, Kansas
It was Barry’s day off and he decided that he would use the morning to kick back and relax a bit, maybe do the crossword puzzle if he was feeling especially willing to exert himself a bit. He had just switched on the TV when he was greeted by a very loud knock at the door. When he didn’t get up instantly there was another one quickly followed by two more.
“Okay, I’m coming… Hold your horses.” He opened the door and saw a very exasperated and disheveled Iris clutching a copy of the Keystone City Press and a bag from the fabric store. Without being invited she stormed into the apartment and slammed her belongings onto the Kitchen table. “Um… hello, Iris.”
“Don’t you ‘Hello’ me!”
“I thought you were in New York, finalizing your divorce…”
“I was and I did… we’re good to go now, but that’s so far from the point right now.” She got up in his face, which was relatively laughable since he had a good eight inches on her, but that didn’t stop her from being feisty and semi-intimidating.
“Well, what is the point…?”
“This!” She slammed the paper on the floor, showing the headline that read: The Flash Returns?: Mysterious Streak Saves School Bus. “They even got Jay Garrick to comment on it.”
Barry still couldn’t understand why she was in such a dangerous mood. “Um… what was I supposed to do?”
That caused her to soften a bit. “That’s what I came here for.” She spilled out the contents of the bag and allowed Barry to examine the red, yellow and white fabric and sewing kit she bought. “Barry, for now you’re just a streak running down the street… I know the news business, soon they’ll find out who you are.”
He nodded, taking it all in. “But Reagan outlawed masked men…”
“No he didn’t. He disbanded the Justice Society and due to pressure from society, most of them retired… and he took credit for it. One of the heroes who always had public favor was The Flash. Keystone needs you to fill that role now.” Iris spoke softly, yet firmly, explaining to Barry the history of metahumans.
Barry nodded again. “Let’s get started.”
Even though it was mid morning when she came over, they worked well into the night; measuring, cutting, sewing and putting together the costume. “I wish I had any idea of how to sew. My speed would help this go a lot faster.”
“That much is certain.” She laughed without looking up from her sewing machine that she went out and bought at around one o’clock when they realized that they weren’t going to finish in any timely manner by hand.
Barry was pacing around the room as she continued to sew and sew and sew. “So, Iris...”
“Yeah, Barry?” She broke her focus for a second to ask.
“You said your divorce was finalized…”
She rolled her eyes with a smile and shut off the machine so she could give him her undivided attention. “Yes, Barry. My divorce was finalized… is that really all you can think about?”
“With you? Yes.” Iris held up her arm to the back of his head and brought him down to kiss him passionately. When they broke apart they were both breathless.
“Okay. Let’s finish this… and then we can have some fun. Best not to be distracted.”
After about an hour longer, Barry had fallen asleep on the couch, but was only to be awoken by Iris’ loud scream. “There!” She said with a triumphant yelp. She tossed him the costume in three parts and began to push him towards his bedroom.
A few moments later, he emerged from the bedroom head to toe in red fabric with lightning bolts around the forearms and waist and another lightning belt in a white circle directly over the chest. The mask was a fully face mask leaving room for his nose, mouth and eyes and on the sides there were two lightning bold shaped wings to pay homage to the original Flash. Two yellow running boots that had wings that matched the mask completed the ensemble.
“Pretty damn good looking, if you ask me… I’m turned on at least.” She said in a deep husky voice as she walked over to him and began tracing the lighting bolt on his chest with her pointer finger.
Barry let out a nervous cough. “Erm, so what does the original Flash think about this…?”
Iris rolled her eyes again. “He said, and I quote ‘I don’t know a thing about this new guy, but I do know I’m happy that someone’s running beside us keeping us all safe again.’ Now, let’s retire… to the bedroom…”
Barry smiled and let her lead him by the hand towards his bedroom, but they were interrupted by the sound of police sirens running past his apartment building. Iris shut her eyes in annoyance and defeat. “Go… the city needs you more than I do… but not by much, so don’t let me change my mind.”
Barry quickly kissed her. “I love you.” And with that he was out the door and gone, before Iris could react.
She brought her hand to her lips and almost silently mouthed, “I love you too.”
***
October 22, 1999. Keystone City, Kansas
“I’m not saying that you don’t love your wife…”
“Or my daughter…” He quickly corrected.
She silently gasped as if she had a bucket of ice cold water spilled on her. “Or your daughter. I’m just saying that it goes back to the plane crash. That’s where you first met her and now you’re using her to deal with it.”
“You’re a psychiatrist and trying to tell me that my happy marriage of five years is a sham? The one that produced the best girl in the entire world. She’s just like her mother. Charming, witty, way to smart for her own good and she’s only four and a half. We have another one on the way… And you’re telling me that the best things in my life only happened because of a plane crash? Well, please excuse me while I book another flight…” Barry wasn’t used to these outbursts where he stood up for himself. Frankly, the only time Barry was able to assert himself was when he was wearing gold and red.
This obviously made the psychiatrist a bit nervous and she quickly changed the subject. “Sorry about that, Dr. Allen. I have records here that state several people from the force have tried to approach you and ask you for drinks, but you seem like you’re a million miles away.”
***
July 24, 1997. Keystone City, Kansas
It was an unusually hot day for late July in Kansas; hot to the point where not even the air conditioning in the Police Station could help the situation. Barry Allen was sitting in his office going through some police reports of some cases that The Flash had taken care of when Officer Gavin Thomas walked by the office and stopped.
“Oh, hey Detective Allen. You busy?”
“Not really. What’s up?”
Officer Thomas took this as an invitation to come inside and sit down and he did so promptly. “Well, a couple guys are going to head down to Waid’s Pub at 5th and 26th tonight after work. We were hoping you’d come and join us.”
“I don’t know. I want to get home early tonight. The first night in a while my wife doesn’t have a meeting.”
Officer Thomas looked notably upset as he rolled his eyes at Barry. “Oh well, don’t say we never ask.”
He hastily left the room, leaving Barry confused at the transgression. Suddenly there was another disturbance as a barrage of police officers came running down the hallway. Detective Fred Chyre poked his head in the door. “Hey, Allen, they say the Snowman’s out in Central City, robbing the bank on Gardner Street. It’s not really our jurisdiction, but it could be a nice way to cool off. You coming?”
“Sorry, Fred. I think I’m going to sit this one out.”
“Eh, your loss man.” The second he left, Barry sprung into action. He quickly slid the ring onto his finger and activated the button on the side causing his costume to materialize in front of him. He got into it at super speeds and ran out of the building undetected and started running towards Central City.
He wasn’t entirely sure what he was looking for. He had never personally met The Snowman, but he could only imagine what this one was going to look like. Probably gaudily dressed in some kind of bright blue or white Eskimo parka and be armed with some kind of cold gun. Before he could finish a complete thought he felt the ground shake from under him. He turned around and saw a massive fifteen-foot tall snowman walking towards him.
Well, this is new.
Okay. How do you beat a giant snowman? Heat would be the operant guess, but it’s 105 degrees with no signs of meltage…
Well this is new.
With the Snowman practically on top of him, The Flash dodged out of the way, leaving it to continue in its path of destruction.
This thing robbed a bank? Not buying it. Okay, think Barry…
The Flash decided to pull out his trademark trick and spun around in a circle to create a whirlwind and he shot it towards the monster. When it hit it, it didn’t even budge and just kept on walking.
“Leave this to a professional, Barry. 3x2(9YZ)4A.” Shouted a voice that came up behind Barry leaving only a black streak. The streak ran right through the Snowman creating a large gaping hole in its torso. It writhed in agony but continued to go on its path of destruction. “Be right back”
The streak bolted off and returned with a weapons grade flamethrower and began unleashing it on the monster until it began to shrink and reveal a man under it. The Flash ran up behind the being and spun him around and saw that it was John Chambers from the island. “John!?”
“Surprised to see me? It’s been a long time.”
“John. You have to stop. There’s a man in there.”
Johnny simply laughed. “He lost his chance the second he decided to go into public like this. We’ve been granted a fantastic gift to be able to decide on things like this. We are the judge and jury.”
“But are we the executioners as well?”
“If need be.”
The Flash backhanded him, knocking him backwards. “And everyone wonders why I have no social life outside of this costume, my job or my family. I have to keep the city safe from wackos like you.”
“Man, I came here to check on you… let’s just say I’m not impressed.” Johnny sped off in the opposite direction. The Flash ran over to the Snowman’s body who looked up at him and mouthed “thank you” to him before he passed out.
“Call an ambulance” he yelled to a random bystander who happened to have their cell phone out. “We’re going to get you some help, son.”
***
October 22, 1999. Keystone City, Kansas
“Well, I suppose I’m just really focused on my work and my family.” Barry said solemnly, really trying to wrap his head around the question and answer it without revealing anything. “Our nephew is now living with us. Came from a broken home and with our daughter and another one on the way, I have a lot on my plate there. And then with all these new Rogues coming through town, there’s a lot to do at work.”
Dr. Guice was feverishly writing on her notepad. She had now filled up the first pocket notepad and had graduated to a full legal pad. “I understand that, Barry. But even people with a lot on their plate can get out. Doesn’t Iris have any friends?” Barry reluctantly nodded. “And she’s an executive at the Sister City News Federation. Plus she has the same kids and is pregnant.”
“I guess, but…”
“No buts. Don’t you at least have anyone that you can grab a beer with?”
He recalled the first time that Jay, the original Flash and someone he now considered a close friend invited him to the monthly Justice Society Weekend Retreat. This is where he was introduced to Starman, Hourman, Sandman, Wildcat, and their liaison Gordon, or as he was taught to call them Theo, Rex, Wesley, Ted and Jack. They shared beers, stories, and several games of horseshoes. That wasn’t the last time he was invited. In fact, he went to every single one after that. He now wasn’t just a fan of the old Justice Society members or even the one carrying a legacy torch. He was their friend.
He also could tell her about the two heroes he had met recently who he has occasionally teamed up with to fight crime, including the new Starman. But unfortunately, those things would rat him out so he stayed silent.
Fortunately for him there was a sudden knock at the door and the secretary came tumbling in. “Dr. Guice. Your four o’clock has been waiting for 20 minutes and isn’t pleased to say the least. There’s also a young girl here for Dr. Allen. She looks to be about 11 or 12.”
Dr. Guice looked up at the clock and saw that it was 4:20. “Well, I guess that’s the end of this appointment.”
“What’s your prognoses, Doctor?”
“You’re an extremely focused work-a-holic who wants nothing more than to do right by his family. I wish there were more people like you.”
Barry smiled. “That bad, eh?”
“Ha. It wouldn’t kill you to inject a little bit more fun into your life. It’s too short to spend it all chained to a desk, but I can’t force you to do anything. I’ll be sure to sign your forms.” She smiled at him as he walked out of her office.
He walked slowly down the hall and was greeted by the smiling face of Jessica Garrick. “Dr. Allen!” She ran up and gave him a big hug. When they parted, he put on his hat and walked out the door with her.
“So, Jessie, I assume you’re not here to tell me I need to pick something up at the grocery store on the way home. What’s the story?”
She smiled and shook her head. “There’s a guy causing all kinds of trouble at the police station. They can’t seem to figure out where he is… everyone keeps seeing his reflection, but nothing else. He’s calling himself the Mirror Master… and Iris needs you to pick up some milk.”
Barry quickly rubbed his face. “Hmm… well, duty calls. Rings at the ready.” The pair held up their rings with The Flash symbol on it and activated the button causing their costumes to come out. In the blink of an eye, they were dressed and ready to go. “Let’s go, Kid Flash. Onward and upward.” He spoke before they bolted out of the Doctor’s office.
The End
The Secret Life of Barry Allen
Six Years Later. October 22, 1999. Keystone City, Kansas
A man dressed in a simple brown business suit with yellow shirt, striped bow tie and a matching hat anxiously walked up to a door that was labeled “Dr. Samantha J. Guice M.D.: Psychiatrist” and hesitantly opened it. “Um, hello, I think I have an appointment.”
“Name?” The receptionist asked in what sounded more like a statement than an question without looking up from her computer as she loudly chomped on a piece of gum.
He slowly took his hat off and held it to his chest. “Doctor Barry Allen.”
The name caused her to slowly look up and stare at him over her glasses condescendingly. “You’re late. The doctor will see you now. Down the hall, first door on the left.”
He nodded and followed her directions. When he reached the room, he entered the open door and saw what he thought was far too luxurious to be a doctor’s office, psychiatrist or not. It looked more like the library that he frequented as a young boy complete with bookshelves lining the walls, several big comfortable couches strewn across the room and a full fireplace in one corner of the room.
“Erm… Dr. Guice?”
A woman who looked to be in her late 20s in a plaid business suit and her raven hair tied back in a tight bun came towards him from another part of the room. “Good of you to finally join us.” Barry tried to speak but she quickly cut him off. “I don’t care. Will you please over there?”
He dutifully nodded and walked over to the couch near the fireplace. Dr. Guice followed closely behind him, monitoring him as he walked. When they were both seated across from each other, Dr. Guice took out a small note bad from her breast pocket. “So, do you know why you’re here?”
“Doctor, with all due respect, this is where the force sends beat cops who shoot someone on the street and they have trouble dealing with it… I haven’t killed anyone.” He explained, choosing his words very carefully.
With a bit of a shocked expression on her face, Dr. Guice responded. “Well, with all due respect, for a Doctor yourself, you have a very narrow view of what I actually do.”
Barry gulped and wiped his brow clean of sweat with the brim of his hat that he had still clutched to his chest.
“Dr. Allen, your police chief, Commissioner Hotchkiss has been trying to get you here for nearly five years… he’s worried about you.”
“Oh really? I didn’t know.” He lied. He could tell Dr. Guice wasn’t buying it by the look on her face.
She slowly nodded. “And he’s not the only one, he’s just the only one that can mandate these appointments. People who have known you for years including your partner Detective Fred Chyre are concerned over your behavior…”
“Fred’s known me for years, since I was a kid. What have I done recently?”
“That’s exactly it. Detective Chyre has known you your entire life, he of all people should know if something is different about you.”
Barry began to squirm on the couch and he started playing with his thumbs to prevent himself from showing her that he was sweating by wiping it away. “Erm, Have you um… spoken with my wife?”
“We’ll discuss her later… it seems that all of this can be linked back to the plane crash you were in… Dr. Allen would you please describe that for me?” She asked him as she wrote down his overall mood on her note pad.
Before she could finish her question he began to shake his head violently. “I’d rather not, ma’am.”
She looked up at him again and raised her eyebrow at his unusual response. “Very well. Why don’t you tell me why you left the F.B.I.”?
***
Washington D.C. September 10, 1993
“Ah, Special Agent Allen. Is the Assistant Director expecting you? I didn’t think we’d be seeing you so soon.” Kate Maurer, the secretary for Assistant Director Walter Skinner asked him while she thumbed through his day planner.
Barry nonchalantly shook his head. “No, I just thought I’d come up and touch base with him.”
“Understandable. He’s currently in a meeting with Division Chief Blevins and Special Agent Scully, but they should be out soon, if you want to wait.” She told him as she lightly wrote his name in pencil between Dana Scully and Dalton Van Savage. He took a seat in the office, picking up a newspaper and began to read. “We were all really heartbroken to hear about Agent Quinn. We know you were really fond of her.”
“Yeah, she was a sweet kid.” He pictured her getting shot in the head in slow motion by Dr. Thawyne and winced. “I don’t know what happened, I was knocked out cold by the crash… I didn’t even have a chance to save her.”
A silence fell between the two, but the door soon opened up and Division Chief Scott Blevins walked out followed by two other men, one smoking a cigarette who were in turn followed by a young looking FBI Agent with flaming red hair that rivaled Iris’s. “Barry?” She exclaimed with a bit of surprise as she ran up and hugged him.
“Dana! How are you?” He stood up and returned the hug.
She rolled her eyes with a bit of a laugh. “They actually just reassigned me from the forensics division to… The X-Files… with Spooky Mulder.” Barry feigned a disgusted reaction, causing her to chuckle. “My God, I don’t think I’ve seen you since…”
“Since graduation. Feels so long ago.”
“It does… when I heard about the plane crash I was constantly praying and when I heard about you all being found so soon afterwards, I was so relieved… well I wish we could talk more. I have to go down and meet him. You going to be in DC long?”
Barry shook his head. “Unfortunately not. I’m catching a red eye back to Keystone City tonight.”
“Well can you do dinner?”
He mulled it over for a second and then soon nodded. “Yeah, I think I could do that. I’m staying at the Watergate. Meet me there at five-thirty?”
“Sounds like a date.” She kissed him on the cheek goodbye and walked out of the room with a visible skip in her step. Barry dreaded that he would have to tell his ex-girlfriend, his first serious relationship about Iris. He decided he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
With the office clear, Barry walked in and politely waved at A.D. Skinner who was currently on the phone, holding one finger up at Allen. Barry sat down on a chair at his desk and before long he hung up to give Barry his undivided attention. “What can I do for you Agent Allen?”
“I wish to tender my resignation.”
The typically stoic man reflexively pushed his chair back in shock. “What? Why?”
“I was recruited out of medical school because my mentor decided to kill people using science that we developed together. Right now he’s lying at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean… I don’t think I’m needed anymore.” Barry tried to state as matter-of-factly as humanly possible.
Skinner wasn’t convinced. He put his face in his hands and began to shake his head. “You’re a hell of an agent.”
“Thank you, Sir, but this plane crash has led to some self-reflection. Life’s too short and I need to start doing things for myself. I need to go back to Keystone City.”
He gave Barry a confused look. “I can just assign you to the Central City field office.”
“No… look, I got a job offer from a friend with the Keystone City Police Department… I think I need to do that for a while.” Barry stated calmly while keeping his eyes fixated on Skinner’s.
Skinner sighed as he took the letter that Barry handed him. “It pains me to do this, but here you go.” He signed the form and held his hand out for Barry. Barry shook it firmly and silently he got up to leave the office. “It’s been a pleasure working with you, Dr. Allen.”
“You too, Sir.”
***
October 22, 1999. Keystone City, Kansas
“I suppose that’s understandable. So you immediately returned to Keystone. Why didn’t you go back into medicine?” She looked up at him after she had finished writing her thoughts in her notebook.
Barry moved his arm up and scratched the back of his neck. “I guess I wasn’t sure where to start. I had been out of school for nearly six years, I guess I thought law enforcement was all I knew.”
She didn’t say anything, but simply nodded. “Now. Your co-workers, even some who didn’t know you before the job feel like you’ve become despondent and distant from social interactions. Do you have trouble relating to people?”
“I’m married…”
***
March 5, 1994. Keystone City, Kansas
It was Barry’s day off and he decided that he would use the morning to kick back and relax a bit, maybe do the crossword puzzle if he was feeling especially willing to exert himself a bit. He had just switched on the TV when he was greeted by a very loud knock at the door. When he didn’t get up instantly there was another one quickly followed by two more.
“Okay, I’m coming… Hold your horses.” He opened the door and saw a very exasperated and disheveled Iris clutching a copy of the Keystone City Press and a bag from the fabric store. Without being invited she stormed into the apartment and slammed her belongings onto the Kitchen table. “Um… hello, Iris.”
“Don’t you ‘Hello’ me!”
“I thought you were in New York, finalizing your divorce…”
“I was and I did… we’re good to go now, but that’s so far from the point right now.” She got up in his face, which was relatively laughable since he had a good eight inches on her, but that didn’t stop her from being feisty and semi-intimidating.
“Well, what is the point…?”
“This!” She slammed the paper on the floor, showing the headline that read: The Flash Returns?: Mysterious Streak Saves School Bus. “They even got Jay Garrick to comment on it.”
Barry still couldn’t understand why she was in such a dangerous mood. “Um… what was I supposed to do?”
That caused her to soften a bit. “That’s what I came here for.” She spilled out the contents of the bag and allowed Barry to examine the red, yellow and white fabric and sewing kit she bought. “Barry, for now you’re just a streak running down the street… I know the news business, soon they’ll find out who you are.”
He nodded, taking it all in. “But Reagan outlawed masked men…”
“No he didn’t. He disbanded the Justice Society and due to pressure from society, most of them retired… and he took credit for it. One of the heroes who always had public favor was The Flash. Keystone needs you to fill that role now.” Iris spoke softly, yet firmly, explaining to Barry the history of metahumans.
Barry nodded again. “Let’s get started.”
Even though it was mid morning when she came over, they worked well into the night; measuring, cutting, sewing and putting together the costume. “I wish I had any idea of how to sew. My speed would help this go a lot faster.”
“That much is certain.” She laughed without looking up from her sewing machine that she went out and bought at around one o’clock when they realized that they weren’t going to finish in any timely manner by hand.
Barry was pacing around the room as she continued to sew and sew and sew. “So, Iris...”
“Yeah, Barry?” She broke her focus for a second to ask.
“You said your divorce was finalized…”
She rolled her eyes with a smile and shut off the machine so she could give him her undivided attention. “Yes, Barry. My divorce was finalized… is that really all you can think about?”
“With you? Yes.” Iris held up her arm to the back of his head and brought him down to kiss him passionately. When they broke apart they were both breathless.
“Okay. Let’s finish this… and then we can have some fun. Best not to be distracted.”
After about an hour longer, Barry had fallen asleep on the couch, but was only to be awoken by Iris’ loud scream. “There!” She said with a triumphant yelp. She tossed him the costume in three parts and began to push him towards his bedroom.
A few moments later, he emerged from the bedroom head to toe in red fabric with lightning bolts around the forearms and waist and another lightning belt in a white circle directly over the chest. The mask was a fully face mask leaving room for his nose, mouth and eyes and on the sides there were two lightning bold shaped wings to pay homage to the original Flash. Two yellow running boots that had wings that matched the mask completed the ensemble.
“Pretty damn good looking, if you ask me… I’m turned on at least.” She said in a deep husky voice as she walked over to him and began tracing the lighting bolt on his chest with her pointer finger.
Barry let out a nervous cough. “Erm, so what does the original Flash think about this…?”
Iris rolled her eyes again. “He said, and I quote ‘I don’t know a thing about this new guy, but I do know I’m happy that someone’s running beside us keeping us all safe again.’ Now, let’s retire… to the bedroom…”
Barry smiled and let her lead him by the hand towards his bedroom, but they were interrupted by the sound of police sirens running past his apartment building. Iris shut her eyes in annoyance and defeat. “Go… the city needs you more than I do… but not by much, so don’t let me change my mind.”
Barry quickly kissed her. “I love you.” And with that he was out the door and gone, before Iris could react.
She brought her hand to her lips and almost silently mouthed, “I love you too.”
***
October 22, 1999. Keystone City, Kansas
“I’m not saying that you don’t love your wife…”
“Or my daughter…” He quickly corrected.
She silently gasped as if she had a bucket of ice cold water spilled on her. “Or your daughter. I’m just saying that it goes back to the plane crash. That’s where you first met her and now you’re using her to deal with it.”
“You’re a psychiatrist and trying to tell me that my happy marriage of five years is a sham? The one that produced the best girl in the entire world. She’s just like her mother. Charming, witty, way to smart for her own good and she’s only four and a half. We have another one on the way… And you’re telling me that the best things in my life only happened because of a plane crash? Well, please excuse me while I book another flight…” Barry wasn’t used to these outbursts where he stood up for himself. Frankly, the only time Barry was able to assert himself was when he was wearing gold and red.
This obviously made the psychiatrist a bit nervous and she quickly changed the subject. “Sorry about that, Dr. Allen. I have records here that state several people from the force have tried to approach you and ask you for drinks, but you seem like you’re a million miles away.”
***
July 24, 1997. Keystone City, Kansas
It was an unusually hot day for late July in Kansas; hot to the point where not even the air conditioning in the Police Station could help the situation. Barry Allen was sitting in his office going through some police reports of some cases that The Flash had taken care of when Officer Gavin Thomas walked by the office and stopped.
“Oh, hey Detective Allen. You busy?”
“Not really. What’s up?”
Officer Thomas took this as an invitation to come inside and sit down and he did so promptly. “Well, a couple guys are going to head down to Waid’s Pub at 5th and 26th tonight after work. We were hoping you’d come and join us.”
“I don’t know. I want to get home early tonight. The first night in a while my wife doesn’t have a meeting.”
Officer Thomas looked notably upset as he rolled his eyes at Barry. “Oh well, don’t say we never ask.”
He hastily left the room, leaving Barry confused at the transgression. Suddenly there was another disturbance as a barrage of police officers came running down the hallway. Detective Fred Chyre poked his head in the door. “Hey, Allen, they say the Snowman’s out in Central City, robbing the bank on Gardner Street. It’s not really our jurisdiction, but it could be a nice way to cool off. You coming?”
“Sorry, Fred. I think I’m going to sit this one out.”
“Eh, your loss man.” The second he left, Barry sprung into action. He quickly slid the ring onto his finger and activated the button on the side causing his costume to materialize in front of him. He got into it at super speeds and ran out of the building undetected and started running towards Central City.
He wasn’t entirely sure what he was looking for. He had never personally met The Snowman, but he could only imagine what this one was going to look like. Probably gaudily dressed in some kind of bright blue or white Eskimo parka and be armed with some kind of cold gun. Before he could finish a complete thought he felt the ground shake from under him. He turned around and saw a massive fifteen-foot tall snowman walking towards him.
Well, this is new.
Okay. How do you beat a giant snowman? Heat would be the operant guess, but it’s 105 degrees with no signs of meltage…
Well this is new.
With the Snowman practically on top of him, The Flash dodged out of the way, leaving it to continue in its path of destruction.
This thing robbed a bank? Not buying it. Okay, think Barry…
The Flash decided to pull out his trademark trick and spun around in a circle to create a whirlwind and he shot it towards the monster. When it hit it, it didn’t even budge and just kept on walking.
“Leave this to a professional, Barry. 3x2(9YZ)4A.” Shouted a voice that came up behind Barry leaving only a black streak. The streak ran right through the Snowman creating a large gaping hole in its torso. It writhed in agony but continued to go on its path of destruction. “Be right back”
The streak bolted off and returned with a weapons grade flamethrower and began unleashing it on the monster until it began to shrink and reveal a man under it. The Flash ran up behind the being and spun him around and saw that it was John Chambers from the island. “John!?”
“Surprised to see me? It’s been a long time.”
“John. You have to stop. There’s a man in there.”
Johnny simply laughed. “He lost his chance the second he decided to go into public like this. We’ve been granted a fantastic gift to be able to decide on things like this. We are the judge and jury.”
“But are we the executioners as well?”
“If need be.”
The Flash backhanded him, knocking him backwards. “And everyone wonders why I have no social life outside of this costume, my job or my family. I have to keep the city safe from wackos like you.”
“Man, I came here to check on you… let’s just say I’m not impressed.” Johnny sped off in the opposite direction. The Flash ran over to the Snowman’s body who looked up at him and mouthed “thank you” to him before he passed out.
“Call an ambulance” he yelled to a random bystander who happened to have their cell phone out. “We’re going to get you some help, son.”
***
October 22, 1999. Keystone City, Kansas
“Well, I suppose I’m just really focused on my work and my family.” Barry said solemnly, really trying to wrap his head around the question and answer it without revealing anything. “Our nephew is now living with us. Came from a broken home and with our daughter and another one on the way, I have a lot on my plate there. And then with all these new Rogues coming through town, there’s a lot to do at work.”
Dr. Guice was feverishly writing on her notepad. She had now filled up the first pocket notepad and had graduated to a full legal pad. “I understand that, Barry. But even people with a lot on their plate can get out. Doesn’t Iris have any friends?” Barry reluctantly nodded. “And she’s an executive at the Sister City News Federation. Plus she has the same kids and is pregnant.”
“I guess, but…”
“No buts. Don’t you at least have anyone that you can grab a beer with?”
He recalled the first time that Jay, the original Flash and someone he now considered a close friend invited him to the monthly Justice Society Weekend Retreat. This is where he was introduced to Starman, Hourman, Sandman, Wildcat, and their liaison Gordon, or as he was taught to call them Theo, Rex, Wesley, Ted and Jack. They shared beers, stories, and several games of horseshoes. That wasn’t the last time he was invited. In fact, he went to every single one after that. He now wasn’t just a fan of the old Justice Society members or even the one carrying a legacy torch. He was their friend.
He also could tell her about the two heroes he had met recently who he has occasionally teamed up with to fight crime, including the new Starman. But unfortunately, those things would rat him out so he stayed silent.
Fortunately for him there was a sudden knock at the door and the secretary came tumbling in. “Dr. Guice. Your four o’clock has been waiting for 20 minutes and isn’t pleased to say the least. There’s also a young girl here for Dr. Allen. She looks to be about 11 or 12.”
Dr. Guice looked up at the clock and saw that it was 4:20. “Well, I guess that’s the end of this appointment.”
“What’s your prognoses, Doctor?”
“You’re an extremely focused work-a-holic who wants nothing more than to do right by his family. I wish there were more people like you.”
Barry smiled. “That bad, eh?”
“Ha. It wouldn’t kill you to inject a little bit more fun into your life. It’s too short to spend it all chained to a desk, but I can’t force you to do anything. I’ll be sure to sign your forms.” She smiled at him as he walked out of her office.
He walked slowly down the hall and was greeted by the smiling face of Jessica Garrick. “Dr. Allen!” She ran up and gave him a big hug. When they parted, he put on his hat and walked out the door with her.
“So, Jessie, I assume you’re not here to tell me I need to pick something up at the grocery store on the way home. What’s the story?”
She smiled and shook her head. “There’s a guy causing all kinds of trouble at the police station. They can’t seem to figure out where he is… everyone keeps seeing his reflection, but nothing else. He’s calling himself the Mirror Master… and Iris needs you to pick up some milk.”
Barry quickly rubbed his face. “Hmm… well, duty calls. Rings at the ready.” The pair held up their rings with The Flash symbol on it and activated the button causing their costumes to come out. In the blink of an eye, they were dressed and ready to go. “Let’s go, Kid Flash. Onward and upward.” He spoke before they bolted out of the Doctor’s office.
The End
