I was still shaky from the events of last night, especially with the picture of Barry and I and a baby I apparently had yet to conceive.

That photo had to of been edited, right? It was clearly a joke the Reverse Flash was playing.

I walked with Caitlin and Cisco, the three of us debating something absolutely ridiculous.

"Check the math. Your dispersal models don't correlate." I said with Caitlin as she nodded.

"Uh, they do if you factor in the seasonal fluctuations in reproduction cycles." Cisco said with a scoff as Dr. Wells appeared.

"What are we discussing?" He asked as I smirked.

"The average amount of bugs Barry swallows in a day of running." I said as Wells chuckled.

"I look forward to seeing you accept your Nobel, Miss Agápi." He said as we walked into the Cortex.

"Where is Barry any- Oh my god Barry!" I dropped the notebook that I had been holding as I ran up to Barry, who was lying on the floor in the center of the Cortex, groaning and humming in pain.

"Oh my god what happened?!" I said as I helped Cisco get him up on the stretcher. Barry could barely talk through the pain.

After a while, we were finally able to diagnose what happened. "Thirteen fractures." Caitlin said as I crossed my arms.

"Thats a new record." She continued as I frowned at Barry's hand.

"And that's just in his hand?" I asked as she nodded.

"You also have a concussion, three cracked ribs, and a bruised spleen."

"Jesus Barry what did you hit? A semi?" I said as he let out a soft chuckle before frowning.

"No. A man." Everyone stopped.

"A-A man? Like... flesh and bones?" I said as he shook his head.

"More like metal and bones." Barry said as Dr. Wells hummed.

"Interesting. A man of steel." He said quickly as my brain worked its way into making an evil supervillain name.

"Dude, why didn't you call us?" Cisco asked as I nodded.

"We could have helped." I said as Barry sighed.

"I didn't know what he was. Besides... I was off duty." That, in turn got a raise of a brow from me as I glanced over at Caitlin, who shrugged.

"Lucky he didn't knock out your teeth. Those puppies don't grow back." Cisco said as I nodded, sitting down next to Barry as I slowly grabbed his hand, inspecting the bruised areas.

I could feel him stiffen up at the sudden touch, which happened to have caused him pain, considering the silent hiss he let escape his clenched teeth.

"So. You weren't... Talking to Iris as the Flash, we're you?" I said quietly as Barry's eyes widened.

"Um... M-Maybe?" He said as I dropped his hand in a small fit of anger. He ended up yelling quietly.

"You adorable idiot." I said as he rubbed his wrist, frowning at me. "You know you aren't supposed to do that, you could get caught. Iris could find out who you are." This only ended with a smile from Barry as I stood up.

His voice began to vibrate as he spoke. "Actually I can do this cool thing with my vocal chords." He said as my eyes widened, a small fear coursing through me which made my body stiffen up. I couldn't even move if I tried, I felt glued in place.

"Cora?" Caitlin asked as Barry's face contorted into confusion and worry. I snapped out of my fearful trance, looking at Caitlin.

"S-sorry. I'm fine." I said as Barry slowly stood up, trying his best to move slowly.

"Cora I'm sorry if that scared you-"

"I said I'm fine, Barry. It just, caught me off guard." I said before looking around. "I think I'm just going to walk around star Labs. . . Haven't seen the whole place other than here." I continued, quickly making my way out of the Cortex.

I could feel Barry's eyes glued to my back as I walked out, but not before long I felt tired, so I chose to call it a night and head back home.

I could hear the faint talking of Barry saying something about possibly knowing the meta, and for some reason it scared me. Because if he knew the meta, that meant there was the possibility of the meta knowing who any of us were.

☀︎︎

Barry and I walked up to the yellow Humvee, which had a missing door on the drivers side.

"That particle accelerator is the gift that keeps on giving." Joe said as I nodded, rolling my eyes.

"Any ideas who he is?" I said, butting into the very short conversation Joe and Barry were having. Joe shrugged, gesturing over to Eddie.

"Eddie saw something he can't explain last night." Joe said as I looked over at Barry, forcing my eye to not twitch.

☀︎︎

"I had a childhood nemesis. Lexi La Roche. She used to put gum in my hair." Caitlin said as Cisco and I scoffed.

"Jake Puckett. If I didn't let him copy off my homework he'd give me a swirly." Cisco said as I laughed, rolling my eyes:

"Alexa Romano. She'd cut off tiny amounts of my hair in high school when I didn't let her cheat on our tests and then go say it was her hair I cut off." I said as Caitlins eyes widened.

"Alright. Cora's wins." Cisco said as Barry chuckled.

"Now that we have all established that we are Uber-nerds..." Barry started as I finished.

"What are we going to do about Tony?" With that Cisco smiled.

"Glad you asked."

☀︎︎

I ended up going to Jitter's after Barry ended up dislocating his shoulder trying to fight a metal robot Cisco created, my mind trailing back to when I first met Tony.

I had known Tony when he was at his worst, and I ended up helping him get back on his feet. He had gotten a decent job in Keystone, and then I moved back to Starling City, only to move here again a few years later.

I couldn't believe he went back to his old ways.

"Hey Cora." Iris said as she walked behind the counter, a smile on her face. "Same as always?" She said as I sighed.

"I'm feeling feisty today. Let's go with a French vanilla latte." I said with an unsure smile as Iris nodded, tapping away at the screen.

"$3.46" She said as I gave her the money. "I'll have it out as quickly as possible." She said before disappearing.

I tapped my fingers on the edge of the counter, looking around as I waited patiently.

The ding of the bell got my attention, my eyes widening as I saw Tony walk over to me. "Cora. Didn't expect to see you here. Thought you moved back to Starling?" He said, and to me it felt like the plan he had just did a whole 180.

"Tony! Wow I haven't seen you since you got the job in keystone. How is that going, by the way?" I said, trying to play it off like I didn't know he was a wanted criminal at the moment.

He crossed his insanely muscular arms, shrugging. "Was going good. Got laid off almost a year ago." He scoffed as I gave him my best sad look.

"Sorry to hear about that, Tony. Life's still rolling good though, right?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound suspicious.

"You could say that." He said with a smirk. "Gotta say though, Cora. You look amazing." He continued as I tried my best not to look uncomfortable.

"Thanks Tony. I can say the same for you." I replied as he shrugged.

"Got a gym at my place. Been living out in Keystone. The west side. You should uh.. Stop by some time now that you live here." He said as I shrugged as well.

"I'm free this weekend." I lied, trying my best to hide the fact that I could easily get him arrested.

"Sounds great." He said, the smirk still on his face.

"So, what can I do for you Tony?" I asked, knowing he had had other plans.

"Ah. I was reading up on the Streak. Found Iris's little blog."

"People say he's a hero, Tony. Have you seen what he can do?" I said as Tony scoffed.

"I say he's a coward. I happen to know that he took a beating last night and ran off like a little girl." Tony said as I frowned, remembering how beat up Barry was last night.

"Do you have any idea who leather boy is?" Tony asked as I frowned, shaking my head.

"No clue. If I did it would probably be all over the news. I'm not one to keep secrets." I lied as he laughed quietly. As a Jitters worker handed me my drink, which I quickly took.

"Look Tony, I really have to go. CCPD is waiting for me to figure out who this new perp is-"

"You got a job at CCPD?" Tony said, a hint of disgust in his voice.

"Yeah. I'm a forensic analyst." I answered.

"Cora." Iris whispered, pointing to the TV screen. I turned to see Tony's mugshot in the screen, with a wanted label above it.

"Actually, I think my friend is going to be picking me up here. Maybe I should call-" Tony saw the tv, a rush of anger clouding his aura.

"Give me the phone Cora." He said, outstretching his hand. "Now!" He yelled as I flinched, practically throwing my phone into his hand.

His arm quickly turned to metal, crushing my phone like it was clay. He dropped it in the tip jar, pulling out a wad of cash with a sigh.

"For the damage." Tony said. "We'll pick this up some other time, Cora. It was nice seeing you." He said with a wink before walking out.

I wasn't afraid at all by the threat. I knew Tony wouldn't be able to kill me even if he wanted to.

Because he wouldn't kill someone he once loved.

☀︎︎

I walked into the Cortex, clearly shaken up by what had happened almost an hour ago. "Cora? You alright?" Cisco asked as Barry's head snapped my direction.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm fine... Tony... he was going to try and impress Iris but. . . I think I may have gotten in the way and changed his plans..." I said as everyone's eyes widened.

"You saw Tony?" Barry asked as I nodded.

"Wait... changed his plans? How could you change his plans? You two don't even know each other." Cisco said as I gulped, shaking my head.

"He and I... we used to um... we used to be a thing before I moved back to Starling City. I helped him get a job out in Keystone Ironworks..."

"Yeah.. yeah. W-we found out that's how he got his powers." Barry said, sounding fazed by the fact his enemy used to date me.

Barry's hands were clenched into fists, and I. The blink of an eye, he was gone, along with the suit.

"Barry don't run angry!" I yelled into the comms as I heard a huff.

"This is definitely the place." Barry said with a cold voice, one that scared me slightly but at the same time made me feel weak in the good way.

There was a crash, my eyes widening as I looked at Cisco. "That didn't sound good." I said as we all shook our heads.

☀︎︎

I ended up leaving shortly after Dr. Wells and Barry's argument, wanting nothing more than some peace and quiet in the luxury of my own apartment.

But, as the friend of a superhero, I knew I wouldn't get that.

My apartment door was wide open, the door handle was ripped off and wood pieces were scattered everywhere.

"Shit." I muttered, grabbing my mini taser in case there was a robber.

"Hey Cora." I dropped the taser out of fright of Tony's voice, feeling his arms wrap around me before I was consumed into darkness.

☀︎︎

I found myself standing in the hallway of an elementary school, confusion evident on my face as I looked around, spotting Tony leaning against the wall.

"Why the hell are we here Tony?" I said with a coldness in my voice as he chuckled.

"Because Cora. I wanted to talk to you... About us."

Barry

"Cora was taken by Tony." Cisco said through a shaky voice. I couldn't even begin to describe the terrifying feeling I had in my stomach.

What if he tried to hurt her? What if he was going to do something else?

"Barry. We will get her back." Caitlin said as I nodded slowly, my heart pounding out of my chest.

And in a mere second, an alarm went off, a fire alarm to be exact. At my old elementary school. "Tony must be keeping her there." I said.

And before anyone could stop me, I was in my suit and speeding to the school.

"Cops are already looking for me. So get ready to cover the showdown of a lifetime, because I'm not going out without a fight." Tony said to Cora, who looked terrified for a moment before she saw me.

"Good. Because you just found one." I said, trying to hide my amused smirk at Tony's anger.

Cora

"You just won't stay dead, will you?" Tony said with annoyance before they broke out into a fight. J watched as they fought, the clear winner being Tony.

I hid behind the lockers, not wanting to get in the way. Before Tony could finish off Barry, he sped away, my heart sinking at the thought of Barry just leaving me behind.

"Looks like he really isn't a hero." Tony said as he stalked towards me. My fear only grew as he placed his hand around my throat, but he didn't stop my breathing.

Before he could even lean in, I heard the faint noise of Barry running at his fastest yet, a grin on my face as Tony let go of me.

I watched as Barry crashed through the doors, his fist colliding with Tony's face. Tony stumbled back, looking about ready to pass out as Barry fell into the lockers, holding his hand.

I took this as my opportunity, throwing the hardest punch I've ever thrown at someone onto Tony, knocking him out cold as I yelled in pain.

"Shit!" I muttered, holding my hand as it started to throb. "I think I just broke my hand." Barry slowly stood up, muttering the same before I felt his arms wrap around me tightly.

I stiffened for a moment before I returned the hug, melting into Barry's embrace. "I am so happy you're okay." He said with a faint chuckle as I smiled.

"Thank you, Barry." I muttered before we all disappeared, reappearing in the cells of star labs, where Barry threw Tony in.

And then we waited.