Felicity Smoak is stymied. She had received all the information Cisco has on the meta-human victim at Star Labs a little over a week ago now and she still hadn’t had any better luck at discovering an identity than he had. She’s still working on the face trace, fingerprints and any other means she can come up with to solve this case when Oliver and Diggle enter.

“We’re going to get him Oliver. That Vigilante can’t evade us forever.”

“I’d prefer to have gotten him on this last confrontation. He’s crossed too many lines. He’s what I used to be as the Hood. If people start equating Vigilante with the Green Arrow, we’ll lose the city for good. S.C.P.D. is already after the both of them. As a Mayoral candidate, losing the trust of the city is something I can’t afford.”

From behind her computer screen Felicity was paying attention to the conversation while she ran the search for what felt like the millionth time. She knew what she was about to say was still a sore spot for Oliver; however she couldn’t help but bring it up one more time.

“I really think you should consider expanding the team again Ollie. You and John are running yourselves ragged trying to protect Star City. You know you can’t do this alone.”

“And my answer is still the same as before Felicity. I won’t put any more lives in danger for my crusade. We lost Sara…”

“Who has been resurrected…”

“Not the point, I nearly lost Roy, Thea is still dealing with the fact that Merlyn is her father, and Laurel has a good career as the Assistant D.A.”

“Barry’s lost people too, Ronnie for instance, and Eddie Thawne…”

“Ronnie sacrificed himself to close the portal, he knew the choice he made was sound, and Eddie…he also did what he had too. We deal with another level of criminal entirely. Barry deals with super-powered individuals, we deal with blood-thirsty, vicious street level thugs who have one goal, kill anyone who gets in their way. Barry’s world is very different from ours.”

“Speaking of Barry, how goes the search on his mystery vic.?”

“I’ve got nothing John. Like Cisco and Caitlin all I’ve got is that he’s a meta-human, but no records, no I.D., he really is a ghost.”

“Well maybe we’re looking at this the wrong way.”

Barry’s voice was heard from the back of Ollie’s base, a surprise to all since it had been months since they’d seen him. While they were all happy to see him, he wouldn’t have come if not for their shared investigation and Oliver also had the thought that there was more to this unexpected visit.

“Okay Barry, what evil speedster do you need help with this time?”

“That’s already taken care of, Ollie. I came to see how your end of our unknown Meta investigation was going.”

“I’m at an impasse. I haven’t been able to find any more than Cisco.”

After his date with Kara, Barry had been processing the case in his mind, even though his mind often strayed back to their kiss. It turned out that the distraction thinking about Kara was just what he needed to look for a different angle.

“That’s why I came. Star Labs still operates with government funding despite Thawne leaving all of it to me as Wells along with his admission of guilt in the death of my mother. As such…”

“…as such, Cisco and Caitlin can only operate within legal means as defined by the rules of the grants. So yeah, we have been going about this all wrong. I’m not saddled with those same limitations. I can…hang on…”

Alarms started blaring in Ollie’s headquarters, causing everyone to rush to Felicity’s side. The cause of the alert ended up being an armored car hijacking orchestrated by Damien Darhk. Normally this wouldn’t be the type of crime he commits, but there has to be a reason so Oliver and Diggle go to suit up.

“Ollie, you need the Flash?”

“It’s just Darhk. We got this. Stay here and see what you and Felicity can find out about this murder.”

As soon as Green Arrow and Spartan were gone, Felicity turned to Barry with a question in her eyes. Oliver’s quip about an evil speedster was always in-line with what Barry dealt with the most.

“So, another evil speedster, huh? How many does that make now, four or five?”

“Actually this was the third instance. This one actually turned out to be a former friend of mine.”

“Barry, no offense, but you’ve got to find better friends. The Star Labs crew, Iris, and Joe notwithstanding, you have a tendency to make friends with people who ultimately betray you.”

“Hey, Ronnie and Eddie gave…”

“Okay, okay. Not all of your friends betray you. I’m just saying that you need to be more careful in your civilian life. So let’s get started, shall we?”

“Yeah, we’ve been searching law enforcement databases for an identity on our victim but as you know have come up empty. And we know that the particle accelerator was the catalyst for all the meta-human activity in Central City. So someone out there is creating meta-humans since he had never been seen in Central before. The question is, who has that capability. Who would want to create new Metas?”

“Well, I can rule out Mercury Labs. You’re absolutely sure there was no trace of the dark matter?”

“Positive.”

“Okay, I’ll run an algorithmic search on all labs in the world that might have the capability of creating super-humans. It’s going to take a while.”

“Not like I don’t have time.”

Barry began to pace as Felicity’s first search came back with no hits. While the search kept running, she took instant notice of her friend’s distracted nature as he alternated between super speed pacing and regular pacing. She would have been amused if she didn’t think he’d pace deep gouges into the floor in his frustration.

“So Barry, who’s the girl?”

Barry stopped pacing long enough to look up at Felicity as she stared holes through him. He didn’t answer as the question caught him off-guard until a sly smirk appeared on her face, and he knew that she knew.

“What girl? Why does there have to be a girl?”

“Because I know you Barry Allen. You’re afraid to let anyone get close for fear of them getting hurt because you’re the Flash. It’s happened with Iris, it happened with Patty, and yes Cisco told me about her. So spill it, who is this girl that’s got you so off your game?”

“Can you keep a secret?”

“Seriously, you’re going to ask me that? How long have you known me? And you do remember where we are, don’t you?”

Barry had to chuckle at Felicity being able to see right through him. He’s always known that he can’t hide anything from her and his retort of so can I would be a moot point, so he decided to get it all out there.

“Yes, there’s a girl. I met her just over a week ago now. We just had our first date, and our connection was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.”

“Oh Barry, I’m proud of you. Looks like our rookie superhero is finally growing up.”

“Felicity…”

“Okay, okay, okay. So who is she? How did she manage to get the Flash so discombobulated?”

“You’ve heard of Supergirl, right?”

Felicity’s jaw dropped open in shock, and her eyes went wide with disbelief. For a moment she thought Barry was joking until she saw the serious look in his eyes and the determined set of his jaw.

“The Girl of Steel, National City’s resident superheroine, Superman’s cousin! That Supergirl? No freaking way!”

“Jeez Felicity, keep it down! I don’t think the rest of Star City heard you!”

“I’m just…this is just…wow! Barry Allen got himself a date with Supergirl! No…no…wait a minute…she knows you’re the Flash right?”

“Yes…she knows.”

“Then that means she has a secret identity behind the cape as well. Spill it Barry, who is Supergirl in real life. I’ve got to know.”

“Sorry, I promised I wouldn’t say. It’s not my secret to reveal. I shouldn’t have even told you in the first place.”

“Well, you know I can keep a secret. Not even Ollie could get this one out of me. Seriously though, I’m really happy for you. You’ve found someone who you can have a relationship with that gets what it’s like to be a superhero.”

“Thanks Felicity, now can we get back to the business at hand?”

“Sure thing, hmmm…”

“What?”

“Just thinking about what to call you two. Super-Flash, no…Scarlet Steel…no…”

“Felicity!”

“Right, right. The search results. Looks like we got a potential hit. No, this can’t be right…they’ve been defunct for nearly five years.”

“Who…?”

“Cadmus. Their more questionable methods got their funding pulled and they were shut down. Their being closed paved the way for Star Labs to become the premier scientific laboratory in the country.”

“I remember hearing about Cadmus. Clark Kent and Lois Lane uncovered their illegal experiments. That article was the biggest reveal since the ones of Superman and Supergirl.”

Felicity started laughing again when Barry mentioned Supergirl. She could believe he had met her and gone on a date with her, but that didn’t mean she still didn’t find it hilarious.

“Felicity, you know I’m really glad my love life is so amusing to you. But I’ve got to get back to Central City. Can you send anything you find on Cadmus back to Cisco and Caitlin. They deserve some looking into.”

“You got it…I’ll get everything I can.”

“Thanks…and just for the record…”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t say anything to Ollie or Dig about your relationship with Supergirl. I promise. But as soon as the time comes, you’d better be prepared to introduce her to us.”

“That’s up to her. If she wants to reveal her secret identity.”

Barry took off back for Central City as Felicity began compiling all the data on Cadmus for him. She meant it when she told Barry she was happy for him. He and Ollie have had so much tragedy in their lives, they both deserve to find happiness. But none more so than Barry as Ollie at least still has a blood relative in Thea.

While Barry was in Star City, Kara was sitting in her apartment trying to compile the rest of the information on her last adventure with Barry and their defeat of Godspeed. She had handed in a short article on the other speedster which left Cat wanting more. She had left out the details of the multi-verse, only mentioning that Jay was a fellow speedster hero from neighboring Keystone City.

As it was, she found it difficult to concentrate as her mind kept drifting back to her first date with Barry, and the kiss they shared as she took him flying. They had traded phone numbers, addresses and all contact info after that date, and a promise to see each other soon. She didn’t realize that soon would be this very day as she heard the screams coming from across town and immediately flew to where the commotion was, only to see a body falling through the sky and a red blur running up a building to catch the body.

“Hey Flash! Looks like you could use some help!”

Kara knew in her heart that the red blur was Barry, and when she saw him she quickly flew to where he was attempting to run down the building while carrying the person he had just caught. In the next instant after getting his attention, she was flying next to him, a huge smile on her face.

“Sure could Supergirl, this guy is a lot heavier than he looks.”

“Then let me…”

Kara took the man and continued her descent as Barry finished his run. As she slowly landed, she gently laid the man down on the ground, rolling him over to examine what had killed him as the Flash came to a sudden stop beside her. Both were horrified as his wounds matched those of the victim in Central City, the same green burns around his heart. While they stood there, National City’s S.C.U. arrived to begin the case.

“You made a good catch Supergirl, how did you know this guy was…”

“I didn’t catch him, the Flash did. I made it just in time to lend a hand.”

“Any thoughts on what caused his death?”

“Unfortunately Captain, no. His wounds match those of a victim that was discovered in Central City.”

“Is that what brought you to National City, Flash?”

“Actually yes, Supergirl helped me out a week ago with a new meta-human after we thought he had been the cause of the murder. Unfortunately, the Meta we encountered had nothing to do with Central’s victim. I happened to be passing through on my way back to Central when I saw this man falling through the sky. Thought I’d return the favor.”

“Well, thanks Flash, Supergirl. We’ll take it from here.”

“Actually, you won’t.”

Barry and Kara had been focused on the victim and the S.C.U. so they hadn’t heard the other law enforcement group arrive. Kara turned first to see J’onn and Alex standing there.

“Agent Jones, F.B.I., this is my partner, Agent Danvers. With all due respect Captain, any potential meta-human or alien victim is our responsibility first. We’ll need some time to examine the body to discover the cause of his demise.”

The S.C.U. had no other option but to withdraw from the crime scene, giving J’onn, Alex, Barry and Kara full access to the body as well as the former being slightly angry at Kara for her disappearance last week.

“Supergirl, I told you I needed you here in National City. Despite the two hour distance between us and Central City, I asked you not to leave.”

“I had to J’onn. The Flash needed my help. And look what it’s brought us. We now have a victim with the same wounds as the one in Central. We can be certain that these deaths are connected. We just have to figure out what the connection is now.”

“And we will. But this time I need you to stay here. Maybe if the Flash is here with you, then you won’t go running off when the D.E.O. really needs you.”

Barry was looking back and forth between Kara, Alex and J’onn, and instantly knew he was a bit lost with their interaction. He thought at that moment it would be best for him to take a step back and let the conversation go on without his input. Of course he did, until J’onn turned his attention squarely to him.

“The Flash, Central City’s resident superhero. What exactly did you bring to my city?”

“Just my help Agent Jones. I…”

“That remains to be seen. Alex, help the team secure the body. We’ll be taking him back to the D.E.O.”

When everything was back to somewhat quiet as the D.E.O. departed, Kara turned to Barry, once again with a huge smile and wrapped him up in a hug, which he returned just as enthusiastically.

“Barry…! I didn’t think that…I was hoping too…”

“The feeling’s mutual Kara, I promise. But we might want to nix on using our real names. Can we take this somewhere more private?”

“I know just the place.”