Strikes

It was chaos, pure unadulterated chaos.

"I'm not even sure what I'm looking at," Rena said wistfully, glancing around.

Lucy bit back a smile. Court rubbed the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. Beside them, Leilani watched with wide eyes, and Don idly stripped the wrapper off of an IWA bar.

"I think I just saw a motorcycle flying," Carol murmured, following the vehicle's trajectory. "Just what is going on here?"

"I just followed the coordinates I found," Dawnie admitted, shrugging. "How was I supposed to know that everyone in the universe was going to show up as well?"

"I just feel we need popcorn, and a safer spot to stand in," Rena added, watching as a splatter of blood landed just inches from their toes.

"Did you ever figure out what was going on with those things?" Lucy asked Dawnie, taking a step back to avoid flying debris.

"Hmm…" Dawnie picked up the discarded wrapper and studied it for a second. She turned to Court. "Can you triangulate this?"

"Sure," Court said with a shrug. He took the wrapper and examined it. "Interesting," he murmured. Then he took out a one-shot and tossed it in the air. "Go there," he told it.

"That works?" Lucy glanced at Rena who shook her head and shrugged.

"It's Court. Just go with it," Rena advised. "Haven't you learned that by now?"

Lucy made a face at her as the one-shot elongated and enlarged into a doorway to a shadowy place.

"Back in a jiff," Dawnie said, darting through.

The doorway closed as her foot crossed the threshold. Don blinked at the empty space his sister had been while he polished off his bar.

"That was different," Don remarked absently. He looked over the battlefield. "Are we still sneaking in while everyone's distracted?"

"Yeah, sure, why not?" Lucy agreed. "It's not like we came to watch the battle." She glanced at Court who produced three more one-shots.

"These are all we have left," he warned her.

"That's okay. We get in, get the hat, get the people and maybe blow up the place, and it's all golden," Lucy replied with a grin.

"Sounds good," Court agreed with an answering grin. "Have I told you lately--"

"--No, no, no, not right this instant," Rena protested, elbowing him in the side.

"Spoilsport," Court grumbled as he tossed the three devices out. One of them immediately activated, showing a familiar room. "You sure about these other two?" He asked Cassidy who was fiddling with a tablet.

"Sort of?" Cassidy shrugged. "What's life without a bit of uncertainty?"

Court shook his head and activated the other two devices. Doorways popped into place.

"Let's go! Dawnie'll catch up later," Lucy said, jerking her head towards the door.

*****

Dawnie cautiously advanced down the deserted hallway. The smooth, almost organic feel of the hallway was scarily reminiscent to her. She fought down an impulse to find the nearest exit and head back to the battlefield.

She paused by a doorway, glancing around curiously. So far, she hadn't seen a single surveillance device. There wasn't even a visible lock on the doors. Dawnie vibrated, searching for motion sensors or lasers and found none.

With a sigh, she pushed the door open and stopped. The room was a vast lab that reminded her of Jebediah's old one. In the center with various tubes and cords attached to it was a tank full of healing gel. Suspended in the tank was a man. Every so often, he vibrated for a few seconds, and when he stopped, the gel became just a little bit paler.

Dawnie walked in the lab, glancing around nervously. The lab was still empty, devoid of life except for the man in the tank. She approached the tank, taking in the sealed controls on the inside of the tank. She frowned at them and then looked up.

The man looked familiar. His wavy brown hair hung to his shoulders. He wore a singlet on his skinny body that reminded her of the outfits they'd worn in the creches. His eyes were closed as if he was sleeping.

Dawnie circled around the tank, keeping an eye on the man. Then her attention was caught by the data displayed on a screen on one of the research benches. She drifted that way, busily reading, her brow furrowed.

The numbers made no sense to her, but she was able to vaguely puzzle out the accompanying results. Dawnie lifted her arm, calling her communicator out of her skin. Unlike the others, she preferred it to stay hidden. It produced too much drag when she kept it out, and so far, she'd been unable to get it off. Not even Court could coax them to unlock from their wrists despite years of experimentation.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a voice said from behind her, a pleasant tenor.

Dawnie whirled to see the man standing outside of the tank, one hand resting on it as if for support. Dawnie did a quick scan of the room, but the only occupants were still just her and the man.

"Why not?" Dawnie asked, her mind whirling.

"Because then people would know this lab exists, and I worked really hard to make that not so," the man explained, straightening. His complexion became ruddier. "Are you hungry?"

Always," Dawnie replied, watching him wince.

As he turned towards a cabinet set against wall, she made her move, heading for the exit.

Then she skidded to a stop as he appeared before her, holding out an unwrapped bar.

"You really shouldn't run on an empty stomach," he said.

Dawnie took the bar and a step backwards. He wasn't even breathing hard. She glanced to where he had been to find that there was no sign that he'd ever been there.

"Who are you?" She finally asked, feeling the chocolate coating the bar melting against her fingers. She resisted the urge to lick her fingers clean; she knew it was only the hunger talking.

"My name's Barry, Barry Allen, and I do believe I might be your father," he replied, walking past her.

Dawnie finished the bar in a few quick bites despite the roiling in her stomach.

"Well, that's different," she muttered to herself.