⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰

𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
don't blame me, love made me
crazy (he's actually just a stalker
though)

⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰

WATCHING BARRY RUN on the treadmill was always something that managed to cause Juliet's mind spin a little. Watching him, the boy who had practically ran his whole life, run that fast with lightning surrounding him? Yeah, okay, sue her for thinking it was dizzying.

With the impending prospect of Zoom hanging around, they were doing everything they could to get better. In other words, Juliet had to get more powerful, and Barry had to get faster. They took turns training — because, as promised, Juliet would not be left out this time. Juliet could feel herself growing stronger and stronger each day, feeling more confident in her powers, but Barry . . .

"He just hit thirteen-seventy-five," Caitlin announced.

"What's the fastest Barry's run?" Harry asked.

"Little over Mach two, when he ran back in time."

"That's not good." He then turned on the microphone. "That's good, Barry." The treadmill and Barry slowed to a stop. "We have our work cut out for us."

Barry came back into the medbay, breathing a little heavy as he settled next to Juliet. "I'm not getting faster, am I?"

"Well . . ." Caitlin began.

"No, you're not," Harry stated.

"All right, well, let's fix this, right?" Barry urged. "I mean, I can't beat Zoom at this speed. It felt like I was standing still next to him."

"Well, that's because you practically were. Zoom is at least three, four times faster than you at this point."

Juliet blinked at him. "Remind me to never come to you if I need optimism."

"How is he so much faster than Barry is and Jay was?" Caitlin questioned.

"Physiology, form, strength, could be a number of things," Harry revealed. "Attitude, diet."

"Okay, all right, well, there's got to be something we can do about it, so let's just figure it out," Barry said. "Fast, okay? I've got plans with Juliet."

Juliet's eyebrows knit in confusion as Barry took her hand and started to tug her with him. "We do?"

Barry squeezed her hand. "Yeah, it's date night. This is me asking you on one."

"Does it involve a couch we can sit on?"

He smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Whatever you want."

However, their date night was cut short. There was a brutal murder of multiple people at the docks, and like always because it was literally their job, the CSI's had to canvas the scene. The next morning, Juliet and Barry stood in their lab together. Joe and Patty were there as well. The evidence that they found plus all of the pictures of the crime scene scattered on Barry's desk.

Joe picked up one of the pictures. "Man, this was a bloodbath."

"Done by one person," Barry replied.

"One person did all this?" Patty inquired in shock.

Juliet nodded. "You can tell from the blood pattern." She pointed to the pictures. "He was shot first, then the police chief, then these three were stabbed, and then the captain was finished off."

"Wow. Do you think a Metahuman did it?"

"I don't know, but J and I found this in all of the stab victims' wounds," Barry voiced, picking up the tiny bag of evidence. "It's some type of cryptocrystalline — flint, most likely — probably broke off the blade during the fight. I'll run it to make sure."

Joe looked to Patty. "Let's see what stores sell those kind of flint knives."

"Will do," Patty responded, following him out of the lab.

Juliet put her hands on the table, staring down at the pictures with her eyebrows knit in thought. Maybe she was imagining it, but something about this just felt . . . wrong.

"Hey," Barry called, nodding to her. "What're you thinking?"

"I don't know," Juliet said. "Something's off about this, but I don't know what."

As it turned out, Juliet should've always trusted her instinct. It was later now, farther into the night, and they had moved on to different cases. Juliet sat at her own desk, typing something into her computer, when her phone started to buzz at the same time as Barry's. She looked over at it, only to see it was a distress signal from Cisco at Jitters. Juliet glanced up at Barry for a second before teleporting away.

She got into her suit at S.T.A.R. Labs before teleporting into Jitters. Cisco was standing in front of Kendra — Juliet vaguely recalled that they had a date tonight. There was another man there as well with a long trench coat, holding a very old knife. Barry sped forwards and punched him, sending the man sliding across the floor.

"You are done here, pal," Barry demanded.

"So is he!" the guy exclaimed as he got up.

He then turned around and threw the knife he had been holding right towards Cisco. Barry sped forwards to get it, but Juliet was faster. She held her hand out and her mind immediately connected to the knife in the air. Right in front of Cisco's chest, it stopped. Red energy surrounded it, as well as traveling through Juliet's fingers. She breathed heavily as she whipped around, but the guy was gone, almost like he had disappeared into thin air.

"Oh!" Cisco let out, putting one hand on Juliet's shoulder and the other on Barry's, who had stopped running once the knife was taken care of. "Thank God, for you two. Truly, Juliet and Barry, what would we do without you?"

Well, so much for a secret identity.

Barry sighed and looked up at Kendra. "Dude, come on."

Juliet let her concentration go on the knife, and she caught it in her hand, pointing it at Cisco. "You're lucky I have a lot of self control right now."

They took Kendra and Cisco back to S.T.A.R. Labs. Juliet got into her regular clothes before looking at the knife. She was so right about this whole situation being weird, because this knife looked like it belonged in Ancient Egypt.

"I can't believe you're the Flash and Scarlet," Kendra admitted. "And that you work with the Flash and Scarlet."

Cisco chuckled nervously. "Yeah, let's keep that on the DL."

"This is the same knife that was used to kill the men at the docks," Barry announced. "The residue is a perfect match."

"So it is the same guy," Joe stated.

"Definitely."

"That's not the only thing, though," Juliet cut in. "This blade is really old. I'm talking centuries."

"Do you have any idea why this guy would be after you?" Iris inquired.

"No, I've never seen him before in my life," Kendra answered.

"Well, he was certainly acting like he knew you," Cisco added. "He kept calling her Priestess Chay-Ara."

"That's Coptic," Harry explained.

"You mean Egyptian?" Caitlin asked.

"That's right."

"Well, I grew up in Wisconsin, and I've never even left the States, so . . ." Kendra insisted.

"This guy, he's clearly incredibly dangerous, so I need you to at least let us try to protect you," Barry pleaded.

"I can put a detail on her," Joe suggested.

"You didn't see this guy, Joe," Cisco protested. "No offense, but I don't think a cop is going to be able to protect her."

Juliet glanced up at Barry for a moment. "Maybe not, but we have friends that can." She looked over at Kendra. "We'll have to leave Central City, though."

"And go where?" Kendra questioned.

Cisco followed after Juliet and Barry into the hallway, obviously not sharing the same sentiment as them in this situation. "You really want to go to Star City? Come on, we don't need Team Arrow's help."

"Yeah, I think we do, man," Barry said.

"Man, you and JJ have fought Metahumans with abilities a lot worse than knife-throwing."

"That's the thing, though," Juliet told him. "I really don't think this guy's a Metahuman."

Barry nodded in agreement. "There's something different about him, something, ah, mystical."

Cisco raised his eyebrows. "Mystical, really?"

"We stop Metahumans because we're scientists. We can figure out what their weaknesses are, but we don't have any experience when it comes to guys like this, with magic. They do."

"Mm, this wouldn't have anything to do with Zoom, would it?"

"No," Barry responded. "I'm just trying to keep Kendra safe. This is the best way to do that."

"Right, okay, I'm with you," Cisco voiced. "But, how do we even know Oliver and them even have time to help us?"

"Well, first of all, he'll listen to me," Juliet insisted. "Me and Ollie? We go way back."

Barry looked down at her. "For real?"

"I am now suddenly realizing that was the wrong thing to say. But, how busy can they actually be?"

So, Team Arrow was actually very busy.

Damien Darhk was the current villain they are facing. Listen, Juliet had enough of the rollercoaster that was Team Arrow's life after she had saved them from Nanda Parbat and the League of Assassins. Yet now, Damien Darhk could kill people with the touch of his hand, and whoever the fuck he was had some sort of connection with the League of Assassins but a different branch . . . okay, Juliet's getting confused.

Basically, what she's trying to say is she stopped Darhk from ripping Oliver's life force away by merely flicking her hand. Darkh's hand instantly removed itself from Oliver's chest and Juliet teleported up to them. She sent Darhk a smirk before grabbing Oliver and teleporting the two of them outside.

Juliet brought them behind the building, far away from Darhk and whatever his powers were. Barry sped in with Thea — who had taken up Roy's spot in red — and Diggle. Diggle immediately took off his helmet and threw up on the ground from the super speed.

"Damn it," Diggle commented, glaring at Barry. "Every time."

"It's the Flash and Scarlet," Thea — Speedy — said. "Did I know we knew the Flash and Scarlet? We know the Flash and Scarlet. Okay. I didn't know we knew the Flash and Scarlet."

"Thank you," Oliver told Juliet and Barry. "But I don't think you ran and you did some kind of sorcery all the way here to protect us."

Juliet gave him a look and put her hands on her hips. "I'm still not a wizard, thank you very much. And no, not to protect you. We have a friend who needs your help."

ϟ ···················· ϟ ···················· ϟ

THE ARROW CAVE was now underneath the Palmer Technologies building instead of a warehouse-turned-nightclub, which was arguably much better. Juliet's eyes immediately widened when the elevator doors slid open to show a very large space, covered with multiple computers and screens, a shit load of weapons, and, of course, the salmon ladder.

"Wow," Barry let out. "Nice new digs." He then looked at Oliver's suit. "Also, I just noticed, no sleeves. Don't you get cold?"

"I spent the better part of five years on an island in the North China sea," Oliver replied. "I don't get cold, Barry."

Juliet immediately got a wild sense of déjà-vu. Oliver had said the exact same thing the night he had shown up at the West house for Christmas. That seemed like a million years ago.

Felicity then walked up to them. "Barry, it's so good to see you."

Barry hugged her. "Felicity. Good to see you, Felicity."

Felicity pulled back and immediately punched Barry in the chest. "How come you didn't tell me Zoom broke your back?"

"I . . ."

She then pulled him back in for another hug. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay."

Barry looked at Oliver. "So this is what it's like dating her?"

Oliver smiled a little. "More bruises from her than from Deathstroke."

Oh, yeah, that. Finally, Oliver and Felicity had managed to get together. And from what Juliet was seeing, he was absolutely God damn smitten. It was all Juliet ever wanted for him, because she knew how much he yearned for the blonde.

Felicity then turned to Juliet. "My girl." Juliet grinned at her and sunk into Felicity's embrace. "How are you, gorgeous?"

"I'm doing good," Juliet answered before letting go. "Just, you know, dealing with my boyfriend's idiocy."

"Oh, I know how that goes."

Barry frowned. "Hey."

Juliet giggled at him and pressed a kiss to his jaw. "You know I love you."

"Okay, S.T.A.R. Labs is impressive, but this is . . ." Kendra began, walking onto the small platform in the very center with Cisco.

"This is completely wrong!" Cisco shouted. "Did you guys even look at the specs I sent over? This is a tragedy. I'm mourning for the death of engineering. Copper wiring to handle the processing speed from the Palmer Satellite, or else your system is gonna overload."

"Yeah, but that hasn't happened," Felicity argued, speaking at a mile a minute. "I mean, it hasn't happened since last week. I mean, it didn't — it happened yesterday."

Kendra then stepped forwards. "Hi."

"I'm Felicity."

"I'm Kendra Saunders. I'm Cisco's . . ."

"She's, uh, my, uh, new beautiful friend who kisses me occasionally," Cisco finished.

Juliet raised an eyebrow. "That's one way to put it."

"Right," Thea voiced. "Um, I'm Thea. This is John Diggle and my brother."

"Oliver Queen," Kendra stated.

Oliver shook her hand. "Hi."

"Wow. Okay, first I meet the Flash and Scarlet and now the Green Arrow. Do you have any other surprises for me?"

Cisco laughed nervously. "Please, no more surprises."

"Barry and Jules said that you need our help," Oliver interjected. "Somebody very dangerous is after you."

"Yeah, and I have no idea why," Kendra added.

"What does this guy even look like?" Thea asked.

Barry pulled off his gloves. "Uh, hold on." He walked over to the small table, which had a notepad and a pencil on it. Using his super speed, Barry then drew a sketch of the guy they had seen before presenting it to them. "Okay, this is him."

"Yeah, see, that's something that I would never think of," Diggle revealed.

Felicity took the notepad from Barry. "Hm, kind of rocking that Dothraki look. Hot. Let's see if facial recognition can find a match."

She went up on the platform and started to type away at her computer. Juliet followed after her, crossing her arms across her chest. After a moment, a picture of the guy who had gone after Kendra popped up on the screen.

"That's him," Kendra confirmed.

"Yeah, strange," Felicity commented. "This picture's from 1975."

"Which would make him about eighty years old right now," Barry concluded, which couldn't be right.

Oliver looked to Kendra. "Okay, what else can you tell us?"

"He said we've known each other for ages, but I've never met the man before," Kendra responded.

"Well, there has to be some kind of connection."

"Not one I can think of. I just moved to Central City six months ago."

"Why'd you move there?" Oliver urged.

"I just felt drawn to the city, I guess," Kendra said.

"Kendra, there is a reason this guy's after you. Think."

"Look, man, we just came out here to hide out for a bit until we figure things out, so you can just take it down—" Cisco argued.

"You came here because you need our help," Oliver countered. "This is what my help looks like."

"Oliver, J and I just saved you guys from whatever the hell Flock of Seagulls was about to do," Barry insisted. "The least you can do is—"

"Barry, none of us have superpowers. You brought Kendra into our world without knowing who she is or what this dude that is after her is looking for. You made all of us unsafe. So maybe you ask the questions."

Juliet gave him a look. "Ollie."

Felicity placed a hand on his arm. "Woah, woah, woah, woah. We're all friends here, right?"

"Mm-hmm," Oliver hummed in agreement.

"Why don't we go back to our place and have some drinks, and we can talk?"

Barry shrugged. "Cool."

ϟ ···················· ϟ ···················· ϟ

CONSIDERING THE LAST time Juliet had been at the apartment she had been absolutely shit-faced drunk and then broke up with Oliver the following morning, she wasn't sure how she would feel going there again.

However, all those memories flew out the window, getting replaced with new ones. A fire was set up, casting an orange glow around the room, drinks were being served, and conversation was flowing easily — mostly exchanging stories of whatever the hell they were dealing with at that moment in time. Not to mention Juliet was standing next to her forever lover, tucked comfortably into his side with his arm around her.

Thea laughed. "I'm not changing my nickname. I like Speedy."

"Are you familiar with my body of work?" Cisco questioned. "If you are, then you know I can come up with something so much better than Speedy."

"Why don't you get a haircut, and then maybe we can talk about it?"

"I think you're just mad because my conditioner game is on point."

Barry looked at Felicity. "So the CEO of Palmer Technologies is living with Oliver Queen. It's insane how much life can change in six months, huh?"

"Which you two would know better than anyone, considering that there's another Flash and Scarlet — or Witch, another Dr. Wells from another . . . Earth?" Felicity listed off. "I mean . . ."

"Trust me, I'm just as confused," Juliet admitted.

Felicity squinted in thought. "I wonder what Oliver's doppelganger would look like. Bald, pot-bellied . . ."

Barry nodded. "Uh-huh."

"Less stubborn," Juliet suggested.

"So . . ." Felicity trailed off. "Everything good with you two?"

Juliet smiled, and it widened even further when Barry planted a kiss to the top of her head. "Never better."

Felicity gasped in excitement when the oven timer went off. "My pigs in a blanket!"

She scurried off to go get them. Juliet then moved towards Oliver, who was by the drink cart. Barry came with her, his hand running up and down her back gently.

"Hey, Ollie, um . . . look, we're sorry that we laid all of this on you," Barry told him. "I know it wasn't fair."

Oliver sighed. "It's okay. I'm sorry if earlier I was a little . . ."

"Short-tempered?" Juliet suggested. "Snappy? Sharp? Impatient? Other words of that sort?"

"I have been called worse. No, but I'm glad that you're here, I'm glad you reached out. It shows a real maturity, and I would know that because I've never been that mature. Well, I'm always here for you two."

Barry nodded to him. "Thank you. I got to say, I mean, this isn't the same Arrow team I'm used to seeing."

"And definitely not the same Oliver Queen," Juliet interjected, her eyes glinting as she stared at him. "You're, like . . ."

"Happy?" Oliver guessed.

She smiled softly at him. "Yeah."

"I am happy. I finally have everything that I've ever wanted. Being with Felicity has given me a real sense of peace, something that I haven't had in a long time."

Juliet gave him a smug look. "And you told me you couldn't be with Felicity. Well, would you look at that. Fate and destiny wins again."

"Didn't you also tell me that guys like us don't get the girl?" Barry inquired.

Oliver nodded. "Yep." His eyes flickered from Juliet to Felicity. "I was wrong."

Barry pressed another kiss to Juliet's head as Oliver walked away. "Thank God he was."

"We've even got the future to prove it," Juliet said, holding up her hand for a high-five, which Barry happily obliged in. "Go us."

"I would like to propose a toast," Oliver announced, standing in front of all of them and lifting up his glass. "I wish it wasn't just the dark times bringing us together."

Barry then sped in, taking his glass from his hands. "But it is friends like you that make the dark times worth having."

"What a guy. Steals my drinks, steals my words. As I was saying, it's good to see everyone. Cheers."

Juliet lifted up her drink. "Cheers."

"Oh, Juliet," Thea called, and Juliet smiled as she walked up to her. "I've missed you."

She walked up to Thea and sat next to her on the couch. While she had been dating Oliver, she had gotten to know Thea a little bit. The two had gotten along really well, but managed to fall out of contact when everything fell through.

"I've been told you can control things with your mind."

"Oh, like this?" Juliet began, flicking her hand and making a stray pen on the table fly into the air and float there. Red energy surrounded it, and traveled between her fingers as well. "Kinda cool, huh?"

Thea stared at it in amazement. "Wicked. You are a wizard."

"Come on." Juliet feigned annoyance, letting her concentration drop so the pen fell to the floor. "First Ollie, now you?"

"Look!" Kendra suddenly yelled.

Juliet immediately got on high alert. Flying through the air was the same guy who tried to attack Kendra. His feet hit the window, shattering the glass into a million tiny pieces. He landed with such precision and grace that it made Juliet presume it hadn't been the first time he had done that.

He stared at Kendra. "I will always find you, Chay-Ara."

Barry sped off and got Oliver his bow and quiver. Juliet slowly walked towards Oliver's side, her hands itching to release the energy building up inside of her.

Oliver pointed an arrow at the guy. "Don't move."

"Then how will I kill you all?" he inquired.

He tucked his hands into his trench coat, and from it, he threw multiple knives. At the same time, Oliver shot his arrow. Juliet held her hands out and focused on all of them at once. They all stopped in midair, and she brought her hands down, making the knives clatter to the floor. However, while she was busy stopping all of them, the guy threw another knife. Juliet didn't have time to focus on it, so it whipped right at her.

White-hot pain shot through her shoulder as the knife embedded her skin. Juliet let out a yelp of pain and fell to her back on the ground. Oliver shot multiple arrows at the intruder and ran up to fight him while Thea grabbed her own bow to help Oliver. Felicity, Cisco, and Kendra moved to the kitchen. Meanwhile, Juliet stared at the ceiling, her gaze becoming foggy.

"J," Barry stated above her, placing his hands on either side of her face to get her to look at him. "Hey, Juliet."

"Ow," Juliet commented. "How come every time I come to Star City I just get stabbed? What the fuck is up with that? I think it's the same shoulder, too."

Barry held onto the handle of the knife. "You're going to have to heal yourself."

She nodded. "Do it."

Barry then yanked the knife out of her shoulder. Juliet cried out in pain, squeezing her eyes shut, before reaching up and touching her shoulder. Immediately, the cut healed up, and all the blood went away. She let out a sigh of relief, and Barry moved her to lean against the wall while he stood up. Juliet blinked a couple of times to regain her senses to see Oliver get beaten down by the guy. He noticed Barry had gotten up and threw another knife.

He effortlessly caught it before it could stab him. "Yeah, I can do that, too."

Oliver got back up and started to shoot more arrows. The guy produced a fan, and with ease, he bounced each one away from it. Juliet pushed herself up slowly, ignoring the black spots in her vision. She watched as two arrows embedded themselves in the guy's shoulders, making him stumble backwards through the now open window onto the balcony.

"Thea, no!" Oliver shouted.

The girl didn't listen. Thea jumped over the couch and let her arrow fly. It went right into the guy's chest. His body immediately gave up, and he tumbled over the railing, falling right off the balcony down many stories.

"What did you do?"

"I ended it," Thea said simply.

Oliver pointed at her. "This is why we ask questions."

He went out onto the balcony. Juliet reached out to Barry, her dizziness taking over her, and he put his arm around to help her. They went out onto the balcony together, but when Juliet peered over the edge, she didn't see a dead body. Instead, there was . . . nothing.

"Wait, w-where did he go?" Barry asked.

"Oh boy," him and Oliver muttered together.

Juliet rubbed at her head. "Y'all got Advil, or something?"

"Okay, come on," Barry voiced softly, reaching down and picking up her legs in one of his arms so he was carrying her fully. "Let's get you some medicine and some water."

They had gone back to the Arrow Cave, where it was arguably safer, and where Felicity could do more research. Juliet had drank a lot of water and taken some pills, and she was feeling slightly better. Her dizziness was almost gone, but it was still there, making her head pound. She was just counting not passing out this time as a win.

Barry was sitting in one of the rolling chairs by the computers on the platform. Juliet sat on his left thigh, her legs draped over his right. Barry had his arm securely wrapped around her waist, and her head was leaned on his. She was sure the bright lights weren't doing her any good, but being safe and in pain was a hell of a lot better than being in danger and in pain.

Oliver was talking to someone on the phone. "Okay. Thanks." He hung up. "All right, Lance is gonna call if he gets any information on . . . whoever that is."

"I know where we can get some info," Barry revealed, his eyes trained on Cisco.

Cisco let out a deep breath. "Kendra, I have powers. I get these vibes from people. They're visions of Metahumans, and I had one of you."

"So, A, you're saying you're a Metahuman, and B, she's a Metahuman?" Felicity questioned.

"I don't know. In these visions, you could fly. It was like you were a bird of some sort."

"A bird?" Kendra repeated.

Cisco nodded. "Yeah."

"W-What else did you see?"

"That's it — just you with wings."

Felicity put her hand on her forehead and leaned her head back. "Oh, I did not see that one coming."

All of the lights in the room suddenly went out, making the entire place go black except for the blue light of the screens. Juliet felt herself get picked up and placed down on the ground, a hand holding onto her to keep her upright. When the lights came back on, Malcolm Merlyn and a band of assassins were standing there. Barry was now standing in front of Juliet, and both Oliver and Diggle had guns pointed.

"Oh, I think there's a lot you didn't see coming," Merlyn began.

"Great, more surprises," Cisco commented. "Who the hell is this?"

"It's my dad," Thea answered.

Juliet leaned closer to Barry. "I thought we were done with the League of Assassins when we left Nanda Parbat."

Barry's grip tightened on her. "Yeah, me too."

"The man you're looking for is Vandal Savage," Merlyn revealed.

"Vandal Savage?" Diggle echoed. "Never heard of him."

"Well, who is he?" Barry inquired.

"Some say he was the most trusted adviser to Genghis Khan," Merlyn explained, and Juliet felt herself get even dizzier. "Others say he guided Julius Caesar through the Gallic Wars. But one thing the League knows for sure — he was there for all of it."

"So, what are you saying?" Cisco asked. "He's like a vampire, or something?"

"Not a vampire, an immortal."

"Okay, we've officially stepped into crazy town," Kendra said. "Immortality?"

"Wait, no, no, no, this makes sense," Thea insisted. "This explains why he looks the same as he did in 1975."

"This can't be possible."

"There's nothing you can do to save her now," Merlyn stated.

"Kendra, do not listen to him," Barry argued.

"I — I just need some air," Kendra announced before walking away, and Cisco instantly followed her.

Barry let go of Juliet and walked up to Merlyn. "Hey, we're gonna do whatever we have to to keep Kendra safe, whether you think we can or not."

Juliet sighed and put her hand on her head. "Oh, Jesus Christ."

〖   ϟ   〗

bro it's been so long since I watched legends wtf did vandal savage do again I forget