Hartley raised an eyebrow. “Hey, you know what’s ‘dope’? My hearing, while extremely painful and a nuisance, occasionally is extremely dope. For example, I can hear that your pulse elevated. That paired with your blushing and twirling your hair like a pre-teen… I’d say that you have a crush.”
Cisco’s hand dropped from his hair and was immediately shoved into his pocket. “Crush? Okay. Whatever you say, Hartley.” He scoffed, shaking his head as they walked. They had made it to the edge of town, and Cisco knew that they should be at least 5-10 miles outside the city just to be safe. “You know, I could knock you on your ass and have no remorse. Keep that in mind with all of these comments.” He said, not missing a beat as they walked side by side.
“I certainly seem to keep running into the usual faces. At least they’re mostly friendly.” She shrugged before quirking an eyebrow at his statement. “I don’t doubt it, but ‘handling’ isn’t the same as coming out the other side still intact.”
“Friendly is good.” Cisco said with a ghost of a smile. It disappeared the second it graced his face. “My body may be okay, but my mind definitely isn’t. That’s the unfortunate part.”
Roy frowned slightly at the foreign bitterness in Cisco’s tone. “Be my guest.” He shrugged, offering the bottle towards the other man, though the concerned frown didn’t leave his face. “What’s wrong? You seem… I don’t know, worked up?”
Cisco took the bottle from the man and took a long draw from it. His face twisted as the liquid burned his throat. “I’m fine.” He said matter-of-factly, taking another drink. “Nothing I can’t handle. Just life kicking my ass once again.”
“Just for a little bit. Going just enough out of the city so that if anthing goes wrong, I won’t hurt more people. You coming?” Cisco turned his head as Hartley caught up to his short stride. “You can come, but beware that you may leave with more bumps and bruises that you might like.”
Hartley laughed. “Oh, Cisquito. You know that bumps and bruises are a hazard of my hobbies.” They walked in silence for a couple blocked before Hartley smirked. “You know, you’ve always intrigued me. I can’t say I haven’t woken up from a very elaborate sex dream about that particle accelerator and your fancy little jailor act.”
“Um, okay? Totally didn’t need to know that.” He blushed, playing with the ends of his dark, wavy hair. “Yeah, maybe more than bumps and bruises.” Cisco laughed, realizing how frustrated he was around Hartley. He knew that would translate into his powers, and he wasn’t sure if it was going to be good or bad, they would just have to see.
Cisco had worked on a jammer for his phone and computer all day, knowing his half-sister would try and decrypt it or find somebody who could. He’d dropped the wristbands off at the lab for Barry to find, hoping he wouldn’t come looking for him. At this point he really didn’t care what happened or who found him.
He wandered about Central City, hood up, hair pulled back, and a pair of sunglasses on. Every few feet he would stick his hand out, sending vibrations out and sending garbage cans flying, breaking street lights, and setting off car alarms. Cisco felt a dark energy coarsing through his body and a grim smile spread across his face, as he knew there was no holding back anymore.
Oliver didn’t know how to quite settle the pain in his chest, the last few nights patrolling left him worse for wear. Felicity’s pending fate rattled the logical part of his brain. An agape piece of him hung in the balance; the man and the beast. The killer side of him that ran wild when his defenses were down. The ghoulish face that stared back at him through the window pane reflected a vision of a man on fire.
The sounds of trash cans clattering in the distance, a disturbance in the natural flow sent him into overdrive. His feet pounded against the dewy streets, his heart beating in sync with the sound of the pulsing car alarms. His eyes fall upon the shadowed figure, the familiar body type with the unnatural stirring left him ridden with the possibilities. Cisco…what happened to you.
Cisco turned as he left someone’s feet slamming into the ground as they got closer. He turned to face the alleyway it came from, shadow covering his face as he saw the familiar gear. “Well if it isn’t the Green Arrow himself. What a surprise. What can I do ya for?” Cisco remarked in a snarky tone, sticking a hand out and stopping the car alarms.
“Just for a little bit. Going just enough out of the city so that if anthing goes wrong, I won’t hurt more people. You coming?” Cisco turned his head as Hartley caught up to his short stride. “You can come, but beware that you may leave with more bumps and bruises that you might like.”
Violet furrowed her brow, watching her brother closely. “I know when you’re putting on a front, you know. I’m not stupid.”
“A front?” His eyes darted to her face. “Do you really think I’m capable of that? I’m the derpy, awkward, weirdo brother that sits in my apartment and plays with tools for a living. I can hardly act like I’m sick to get out of work, Violet.” He laughed. “There’s no front.”
“Well, this city does seem to be smaller than I originally thought.” Pamela replied with a smirk. “Something bothering you? That cute face of yours should be smiling.”
“It does seem like that, doesn’t it?” He looked up before his eyes finding her face once more. “Nothing I can’t handle.” He said, a smile tugging at his lips.
Hartley laughed, “For the record, all I said is that if I’m naughty you can tie me up and spank me. And I said you’re the boss. So, maybe what I meant by that is that I’m…” Hartley pursed his lips and frowned slightly. “You’ve bested me. In a whole lot of ways. We both know that.”
“Not in everyway though.” Cisco said, watching Hartley’s face closely. “You probably have me beat in more categories than you think, Hartley.” He started walking away, expecting the man to either follow or stay put. Either way, Cisco needed to get out of town before he lost control again.
“I probably shouldn’t either but…” Roy mumbled with a shrug. “But I suppose it’s different for meta… stuff. Barry can’t get drunk, so is that the same for all of you?” He mused, more to himself than Cisco before playing with the frayed label of the bottle he was drinking from. “Waiting for Felicity to wake up, get the all-clear. Don’t think I can do much else right now.”
“No, nothing like Barry.” Cisco said, as if the name left a bad taste in his mouth. “Actually, on second thought, do you mind?” He said, holding out his hand for the bottle. He didn’t really care what happened anymore, he was done trying to please everyone.
Cisco backup 