(The Flash) Frozen Flashpoint: Chapter 17 – A Worried Father

Chapter 17 – A Worried Father

Summary: Barry grows increasingly worried about Lyra's strange behavior, while Speedstorm demonstrates the control she has over her powers.

It had been a little over a month since Lyra came to the past.

In that month, Barry and Caitlin had grown very close to their future daughter. But Barry noticed something odd—while Lyra talked a lot about herself, what she liked, what she enjoyed, and even what she was afraid of (apparently, Caitlin’s fear of spiders was hereditary), she never spoke about her life experiences or the people she knew in the future.

Oh, she mentioned Barry, Caitlin, Cisco, Jessie, Joe, Wally, and even Harry now and then, telling them how they would have reacted to some situation they found themselves in. But no one else. Once, Barry tried asking about future Oliver again, but Lyra deflected. When Caitlin brought up their daughter Mei, Lyra stiffened, her eyes becoming shiny before she left the room with a weak excuse.

What Barry found most suspicious was one morning when the three of them returned home from a mission just before sunrise and decided to eat breakfast while watching the start of a new day.

As they sat with cups of tea (Caitlin vetoed coffee immediately) and watched the sun slowly rise, Caitlin commented, “I’ve always loved the dawn.”

Lyra dropped her cup, which shattered on the floor, spilling its contents. By the time Barry turned around, using his speed, the teen had already sped away from the balcony. It was only because Barry was in Flash time that he noticed the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Neither he nor Caitlin—or anyone else on the team—could find her for the rest of the day. Both Barry and Cisco made a mental note to grab something of Lyra’s and keep it safe so Cisco could vibe her if something like that happened again.

When Barry and Caitlin were on the verge of losing their minds with worry, Lyra casually walked into the loft, her cheerful personality back in place.

Flashback

The moment Lyra entered the house, humming some weird song, Caitlin nearly jumped on her, almost screaming, “Where were you?! We were worried sick!”

The future teen just tilted her head slightly and asked, still smiling, “You were worried?”

Caitlin narrowed her eyes. “Worried?! More like panicked. Cisco was trying to vibe you all day...” Barry noticed Lyra stiffen at that. “Harry and Wally were checking every camera possible. Your dad and Jessie were running around the city all day.”

“Why, though?” was the only innocent response from the future speedster.

Barry frowned. Before Caitlin could erupt again, he spoke evenly, “This morning, out of nowhere, you acted as if you’d had a shock and then disappeared for the rest of the day. The last time I saw you, you were crying.”

Barry almost missed it, but although the smile stayed on her face, he could see her eyes widen, realizing he had caught her. Gently, Barry said, “Sweetheart, we want to help, but we can’t if you keep pushing us away.”

For a moment, it looked like Lyra really wanted to say something important, but then the resolve returned to her eyes. With a forced smile, she said, “I just remembered something I had to do in Starling City today and ran out. Sorry for worrying you. I guess I’m still not used to this time period.”

Barry narrowed his eyes, suspecting what she might have done in Starling City, but Caitlin was mollified by the explanation. Still, she gave her daughter a firm look and announced, “You’re grounded for a week. No hero work either.”

Then Caitlin hugged the girl and said softly, “I was so worried, little star. Don’t do that again.”

The girl hugged her mother back just as softly. “I’m sorry, Mom.”

End Flashback

Later that night, when Caitlin and Lyra were asleep, Barry snuck out to the balcony with his phone and called Oliver.

After a couple of rings, a gruff voice answered, “Barry?”

Barry couldn’t help but chuckle at Oliver’s straight-to-the-point manners. “How’s it going over there, Ollie?”

Barry could almost hear Oliver’s eye twitch at the nickname, and he had to hold back a snort.

Still, Oliver answered in his usual tone, “Less busy than usual, to be honest. About to wrap up another scheming serial killer who’s been bugging me for the past few months. Congratulations, by the way—I didn’t have the chance to call you and Caitlin myself yet.”

Barry smiled a little. “Thanks, man. We got your message through Felicity when she called. Glad to hear you’ve got a handle on things over there for once.”

Barry was treated to the rare sound of Oliver Queen chuckling. “I wouldn’t go that far. I might be taking down my big bad, as your team calls them, but recently, I’ve had a ton of personal issues. Just found out I’m a father to a soon-to-be teenage boy.”

Barry’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “I’m sorry, what?!”

Oliver hummed in agreement with Barry’s tone before he said, “Yeah. I heard you’re in the same boat as me. You’re calling because of Lyra’s visit today, aren’t you?”

Barry let out a deep sigh. “So, she did visit you. We were worried—she disappeared for the entire day.”

“Sorry, Barry. If we’d known, we would’ve had her call you earlier,” Oliver responded, but something felt off. Then again, Barry knew he could never read Oliver very well.

Instead, Barry hummed. “Did she want something specific?” he asked.

Oliver replied almost immediately, “She introduced herself, and she was lucky she could talk so fast. I was about to put a couple of arrows in her back before she showed me a picture of the three of you.” Barry winced and laughed at the same time.

Still, Barry wasn’t convinced. “She left this morning out of nowhere, crying. I have no idea why. Did she mention anything?”

Oliver was silent for a moment before saying, “She spent most of her time with Felicity, to be honest.”

Barry wasn’t buying it. Even Oliver Queen would clear his schedule for a niece coming from the future. With a flat tone, Barry made an assumption. “Your big bad... Lyra told you something.”

Not even trying to hide it anymore, Oliver went on the attack with a firm tone. “Don’t even try to say something to her about it when you and your team are doing the same thing to save your city.”

Barry was surprised by the tactic. “Protective, are you, Ollie?”

Not even addressing the nickname, Oliver retorted, “Just let my niece be, Barry, and do me a favor—keep her safe. If I could drop by to hunt down that nutcase you’re dealing with, I’d be there tomorrow, but I’ve got my own hands full for now. So you’ve got to watch over your family for me too.”

Barry felt warmth in his chest toward his good friend. It was rare for Oliver to show this amount of care for anyone.

Before Barry could reply, he heard gunshots in the background and quickly said, “Gotta go—helping Speedy beat some mafia thugs. Stay safe, Barry.”

With that, the call ended, and Barry was left with more questions than answers about his daughter.

Why had she gotten so upset out of nowhere this morning? Why did she go to Starling City? What did she tell Oliver to get him on her side so quickly? And what did Felicity talk to her about?

Barry groaned. He really hated where his mind was going.

Ever since that day, Barry had been watching Lyra more closely. Not in a mean way—he didn’t suspect her of being someone else or even doubt her intentions. No, he was concerned about the effect the secrets she refused to share were having on her.

Two days after his call with Oliver, in desperation to understand what was going on with his baby girl, Barry called Felicity. But the moment the blonde heard Lyra’s name, she clammed up and refused to utter a word about what they had talked about.

When Barry kept pushing, she got annoyed enough to say, “Look, Barry, all I’ll say is you have a good reason to be worried. Watch over her, but don’t push—it won’t work out well, I promise you that.”

Before Barry could press further, she made some obviously fake excuse and hung up on him.

Today, Barry and Lyra were out patrolling the city and had stopped a couple of robberies. Barry had to admit, for someone who hadn’t been trained by a speedster herself, Speedstorm was a very efficient and powerful hero.

In the last month, there had been barely any meta activity, which was odd. Barry couldn’t remember the last time so much time had passed without even a single meta causing trouble in the streets.

Which was somewhat good. It allowed Cisco, Harry, and Wally time to work on the chip DeVoe would soon need. Caitlin was working on something with her mother that made Lyra smirk every time it was mentioned. And Jessie was finally making some friends her own age.

But even with all the good things that came with the relative quiet, Barry could see that Lyra was nervous about it.

Barry had to wonder how she’d learned to combine her cold powers with her speed so well. He remembered how, earlier today, when they stopped a bank robbery, she did something that stunned him for a moment.

There were no metas in the group of thieves, but there were at least twenty of them, all armed with enough firepower to deal with a hero rather than just the police.

They seemed distressed when they saw the Flash respond to the call for help, but they completely dismissed the teen next to him.

Lyra was wearing her super-suit, with an ice-blue mask covering her upper face and her brunette hair in a bun on top of her head, the few silver locks floating in the wind.

The entire group had a plan, and the moment Barry locked eyes on them, they all aimed their weapons at the civilians and cops gathered behind the perimeter line and started shooting.

Barry paled. Even two speedsters couldn’t stop so many bullets at once or move all those people out of the way. But before he could finish processing the problem, Lyra was already running, creating a streak of blue and orange lightning in front of the crowd. A second later, instead of lightning, a thick wall of ice appeared, stopping all the bullets without breaking.

Lyra, without waiting a moment, sped toward the attackers and began running around them, creating a tornado that lifted all thirty of them slightly into the air, their bullets trapped in the same storm after they attempted another shot.

All of a sudden, the storm stopped, and the thirty thieves dropped to the floor, their weapons useless as the metal had frozen. Most of the attackers were shivering.

Needless to say, Barry was more than impressed. His daughter certainly lived up to the name Speedstorm.

For the past few weeks, people had already begun speculating about who this new heroine was and why she had the powers of both Flash and Frost. Some theorized that the hero couple had encountered a meta who copied their powers and transferred them to the young girl. Others speculated that her power was artificial, and she was some sort of beta test for a new generation of artificial metas.

Nonetheless, everyone loved Speedstorm. Lyra had even shown Barry a conspiracy site that posted an article suggesting that Speedstorm was Flash and Frost’s daughter from the future. Barry looked concerned, but the future girl just laughed out loud while reading the article.

Caitlin softly sat down next to Barry on the couch, saying offhandedly, “Little star is with Jessie and her friends at the pool for another couple of hours.” Then she glanced at him and asked, “What’s got you brooding so much today?”

Barry sighed. “It’s our Snowflake, actually. I’m really worried about her.”

Caitlin frowned. “Why’s that, Barr? I thought she did awesome today in the field.”

Now Barry was frowning. “She did, but she was very... aggressive.” At Caitlin’s raised eyebrow, Barry explained, “There were other ways to disarm them, but she chose a rather violent one. With the control she has over her powers, she could’ve frozen the metal without harming anyone, but she still gave them frostbite all over their fingers.”

Caitlin considered his words for a moment. “You have a point, Barr, but you have to remember, she’s coming from a rough time. She’s still adjusting.”

Barry shook his head before saying, “It’s not just that, Cait. Don’t you remember when she first appeared in the cortex? She was anguished, full of pain and tension. You’d think a girl who ran back in time to reunite with her family would be happier than that.”

Caitlin now began to worry herself, and it showed in her voice as she asked slowly, “What are you saying, Barr?”

Barry rubbed his face tiredly before answering, “I don’t think it’s about why she came here—it’s more about what she had to leave behind. She talked to Oliver and Felicity the day she gave us the slip. All they’d tell me is that something’s wrong, but they couldn’t say what.”

Caitlin leaned back on the couch, processing the information. After a couple of moments, she nodded to herself and said, “I trust Oliver and Felicity, and I’m sure Lyra’s in good hands with them. But still, we...”

Before she could finish, both their phones started ringing. Barry quickly looked at the screen to see Cisco calling.

A moment after answering the call and putting it on speaker, Cisco’s voice yelled through the phone, “Barry, the three of you need to come to STAR Labs ASAP!”

Barry exchanged a look with Caitlin before standing up and responding, “On our way.”