Present

"Pictures of the husks, just like you asked for," I state as I gently toss a handful of photos onto Scott's desk, watching him with proud eyes as he scoops them up to look them over. 

He nods his head as he flips through them. "I still don't understand how you get so close...do you know someone on the inside? That lets you get these types of photos?"

I cock my head as I try to come up with a plausible lie, since I couldn't exactly tell him that I was a speedster and could take as many pictures as I wanted without being seen, but before I have to, he's stopping himself from asking me.

"Actually, never mind, I don't care...as long as you keep doing great work like this, we'll have no problems." I nod my head as I let the camera fall back onto my chest, the strap around my neck holding it in place. 

A feeling of accomplishment overcomes me once again. "Thanks once again for giving me this job on such short of a notice-"

"Of course," he states as he continues to flip through the photos. "Iris put in a good word for you, and I know I can trust her. I'm glad I did, too."

"I'm glad you did too," I echo before I turn around, heading out of his office. I let the door shut behind me as a yawn escapes my throat, it being quite common now-a-days. Staying up last night with a stomach ache and to chat it up with Barry at four in the morning really did a toll on my energy.

I glance over at Iris as she types away on her computer, at least before she notices me walking her way, which causes her to stop and smile at me. "What'd he think?"

"Amazing as always," I wink back at her, causing her to laugh. I lean over her desk as she punches me in the arm softly, a bright smile still on her face.

"I told you that you'd be a good photographer," she tells me once again. When I had first heard the idea about me getting a job here, I didn't think I was cut out for it. I was glad that Iris had talked me into it however. "I've always seen you as a person who looks at the world in a different type of way."

I raise my eyebrows. "Well technically you're right, since I'm not exactly from this earth-"

"Oh hush, you know what I meant," she cuts me off before grinning, causing me to shoot a smile back at her. However, before we can carry on more, both of our phones are dinging in our pockets, causing us to pull them out.

Meet at S.T.A.R. Labs ASAP! Breach is open and won't close - Cisco 

Iris and I look up at each other at the same time, the look on our faces saying it all. For some odd reason, my mind instantly went to something bad coming through the breach...something like another speedster or God knows what.

I glance over at the clock on the wall, finding that it was already almost eight. "I think it'd be okay if we left two minutes early, right?"

Iris grabs her purse and coat off the chair as she slips it on, nodding her head. "If a breach is open, then yeah."

I give her a nervous smile as I slip my camera off and set it over on my desk, along with shutting my computer down and putting things up for the night. After I do this, I quickly grab Iris and race us both to S.T.A.R. Labs. When we get there, I stop to find Cisco standing there with a gun aimed at the breach, along with Barry and the others standing around with a look of nervousness on their faces.

"Can't you close it?" Barry asks, furrowing his eyes.

Cisco glances over his shoulder. "Do you think I would have texted you all if I could?"

I stare at the center of the breach for a long moment, wondering to myself what in the world could be trying to come through, but soon my question is answered. Before I know it, a figure is hopping through and holding their hands up, but when I see who it is, relief floods my body.

"Harry?" Cisco says as he starts to lower his gun, but before he really can, a flash of lightning is racing out of the breach, running around in circles. When the ball of light finally stops, I see that it's Jesse...a speedster now.

Barry widens his eyes. "Well that's new-"

"Tell me about it," Harry says with a look of concern. 

Wally's eyes are frozen on Jesse. "You're a speedster now?"

"Yeah," Jesse says, a large smile on her face. "It happened a few days ago. I guess I was affected by the dark matter when we had recreated the particle accelerator explosion a few weeks ago."

"This is awesome!" Caitlin says with too much enthusiasm for my taste. "What brings you two here, then?"

Harry points back and forth between his daughter and the team, but before he can get a sentence out, his eyes glue to me. "Wh-What? Raven?"

"How are you...?" Jesse mumbles after Harry as she stares at me as well, and it takes me a moment to realize why. "I thought you were..."

"I brought her back," Barry states then, glancing over in my direction. 

Harry scowls. "So that means that you changed the timeline?"

Barry scratches the back of his neck. "Well-"

"How many times have I told you not to alter the timeline!" he exclaims as Jesse walks around him and comes straight to me, wrapping her arms around me. We hadn't been very close before they had left, but knowing that someone else cared about my life meant a lot to me. 

"It's good to have you back," she breathes into my neck as I smile, hugging her back. Harry stops yelling at Barry then as he sighs, giving me a nod meaning that he was glad I was back too.

Jesse pulls away from me as Cisco gets us back onto the subject at hand. "So, what brings you two here to lovely Earth uno?"

 "I thought maybe you guys could run some tests on her to...you know...make sure she's alright," Harry says then.

"Of course we can do that," Caitlin says. "Lets go to the speed lab."

Barry and Harry both look at Caitlin, confusion on their faces. "Speed lab?"

Everyone gives the two of them a confused look before Harry turns to Barry, another nasty look on his face. "Way to go, Allen."

-*+*-

For most of the night, we all spent our time in the speed lab watching Jesse run and get caught back up with one another. It hadn't been too long since the last time we had seen them, but I guess for them, they didn't think they'd ever see me again...so of course we had to talk about it.

After that, the night went by quick. I was somehow able to get a good nights sleep without any stomach aches or headaches...or nightmares. It was the first real sleep I've had in weeks. It was nice.

However, after morning came and went, I found myself at CCPD to interview Barry about the most recent news story. Of course, I was only meant to be the photographer and Iris was supposed to be the one to do the interviewing, but since it was Barry, I thought I'd come do it for her...and because I wanted to get a few things off of my mind.

After the other night talking to Barry about how I felt, it made me grow more confident. Hearing the two of us verbally talk about how we felt about one another made me wonder if it was worth giving this a chance...sooner rather than later. At first I was worried about fixing myself for him, but now I realized that I didn't need to. He cared about me no matter how broken I was.

So, I thought I could kill two birds with one stone by coming here.

"Barry!" I shout as the elevator doors open, my eyes catching Barry starting to walk up the stairway. I quickly make my way out of the doors as he turns and looks down at me, a smile appearing on his face as I approach him.

He has a coffee in his hand. "Hey Raven, what are you doing here?"

I stop in front of him, clutching my camera in hand. "I'm here to ask you a few questions if you don't mind...it's about what happened last night; with the foster girl and her adoptive father."

Barry glances over towards Joe in another room as I look as well. "I mean yeah, I can answer a few things, but I thought Iris was the one who usually did this stuff?"

I quickly explain myself, and for some reason, I found the palms of my hands sweating. "She was busy with other things and I told her that I could take care of it, since I wanted to talk to you anyways-"

"Talk to me about what?" he asks me, furrowing his eyebrows in a questioning look.

I wasn't really sure exactly what I wanted to talk to him about. Up until this point, I told myself that I just wanted to bring up the topic to him, but now that I was actually here in the moment, I wasn't sure what to say or how to bring it up. 

I scratch the back of my neck. "Um, I wanted to talk to you about the other night..."

His face is blank for a moment before he realizes what I'm talking about. "Oh, the night you had a stomach ache?"

"Yes, that night," I fade out, not sure how to continue on. "I guess what I want to say is..."

My mind went blank. My mouth wouldn't cooperate with my brain as I try to think of something to say, but utter silence was the only thing that would come out. At this point, my hands were sweating so much that the camera in my hands slips out of them, causing it to tumble to the floor.

However, just before he could land, Barry is flashing downwards and snatching it with his super speed. I felt completely embarrassed as I take it from his hands, a faint smile on his face. "Running a little slow today?"

I chuckle softly, and I could feel my face heating up. "Yeah, I guess so."

Another moment of silence wraps between the two of us, but before I could find a way to make things more awkward, Barry takes control of the situation. "Say...there's this formal work thing coming up next week. I usually never go, but maybe if you wanted to come with me...?"

I nod my head as a faint smile appears on my face. "I'd love to go."

He grins then, showing his teeth. "Okay, I guess it's a date then."

I guess it's a date then.

I must have made some sort of face that I wasn't aware of, because soon after, Barry is adding on another sentence to that statement. "Oh uh, unless you don't want it to be-"

"It's a date," I nod, my turn to grin this time.

 Barry's cheeks turn red as he gets back onto the task that was originally on hand. "So, you need to ask me a few questions?"

"Um yeah-" I start to say before I get cut off by the sound of yelling from across the way on the other stairway.

I look over and find Julian dashing down the stairs, a maddening look on his face. "Hey, you! Stop right there!"

Barry and I give each other a doubtful look before I turn back and look down at a magenta haired girl. "What? Me?"

"Yes, you!" he stops down on the main floor, now face to face with her as everyone watches. "You're a metahuman, aren't you? You were the one who hurt your father."

The girl shakes her head, terrified by his words. "No, it's not true-"

"Yes it is! You're a meta!" Julian continues to shout at the girl as she turns around and presses the palms of her hands to her head, trying to block out the sound. However, before I know it, she's looking back up with a menacing look on her face, eyes glowing purple.

"You're right, I did almost kill him," she breathes, anger radiating from her. "Just like how I'm going to hurt you, too."

She whips around in that moment, raising her hands as the giant metal monument falls off the wall, straight down on top of Julian. Before it can however, Barry is dashing around me and down the stairs, grabbing him before he can get squashed by the giant object. While he does this, I find myself racing off after the girl, finding her outside of the police station.

"Frankie!" I shout, remembering her name all of sudden after reading her story this morning. She turns and faces me, anger in her eyes. "This isn't you. You're stronger than this-"

"My name is Magenta!" she shouts back at me. "And this is the real me. Alchemy showed me my true form. I'm tired of being a scared little girl all of the time...now I don't have to be."

I furrow my eyebrows. "You may think he's helping you, but he's not. Listen to me, Frankie-"

"This is the real me now, and there's nothing you can say to bring the old Frankie back," she says with anger as I watch her raise her hands once again, but this time instead of making a monument fall, she lifts a police car with a man inside, throwing it into the air. 

I'm thinking quickly as I dash up the side of the wall, jumping from it and catching the man from inside the car as I bring him down the safety. The car skids across the ground behind me then as I set the man down, looking around for Frankie to find her gone.

I guess this was a bigger problem then I had originally thought.

-*+*-

I love my awkward beans so much...but so so SO sorry for this being so late guys. I've been super busy lately and I also wasn't sure how I wanted this chapter to go...I tried making it as interesting as possible. I'm hoping to spice things up a bit here in a few chapters!

don't forget to comment and vote xx