accelerate: ⚡ FLASH. (Default)
brb. ([personal profile] accelerate) wrote2016-06-14 05:21 pm
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( ENTRANCEWAY INBOX )



( ACTION | AUDIO | MIRROR | TEXT | VIDEO )


CALLING: BARRY ALLEN 🐻 ▓
[ haunted.mp3 plays ]

CALLING: THE FLASH ⚡ ▓
You've reached the Flash!
demonstrate: (vigilance.)

AUDIO. | 🐻

[personal profile] demonstrate 2016-06-19 05:40 am (UTC)(link)
Barry?

[ urgency fills iris west's voice. guess who was exploring the mansion and just heard something happen on the fourth floor? breath still caught in her chest, she keeps moving even as she speaks: ] Barry, are you okay? [ is caitlin okay? did thawne get in the crossfire? the last one wouldn't be such a pity. ]
demonstrate: (dawning.)

AUDIO. | 🐻

[personal profile] demonstrate 2016-06-19 07:12 pm (UTC)(link)
I was at the coffee shop.

[ it's on the first floor, and iris is quick to point that out so he won't worry. she was safe and out of harm's way, for once. but it's clear she's on the move now, leaving behind the foamy latte she'd ordered in favor of climbing up the stairs. destination: barry's room. he isn't the only one that worries. ]

I saw someone mention a complication in the lab?

[ something about an aether? iris has no idea what that is, barry is usually the one that translates science jargon into english for her. ]
demonstrate: (dawning.)

ACTION. | 🐻

[personal profile] demonstrate 2016-06-20 07:14 am (UTC)(link)
[ unfortunately, regardless of how many times joe west tells her to run in the opposite direction when she sees danger, iris isn't anywhere close to listening. particularly not when her loved ones are involved. in this case, iris would actually feel partly responsible. she is the one that decided on the fourth floor when she first found caitlin.

if either of them are hurt ...

iris doesn't need anyone to tell her how high the stakes are here. if barry, the fastest man alive, is trapped in wonderland, it's powerful in its own right. magic unlike they have ever dealt with floods these halls. it's everywhere: the mirrors they walk past, the food they consume, and the rooms they sleep in. it's even in the people they meet, meta-humans but not.

he can't keep her away. not this time.

she reaches the fourth floor, glancing left and then right, stepping over debris that's scattered on the floor.
]

Barry?
demonstrate: (💟 115.)

ACTION. | 🐻

[personal profile] demonstrate 2016-06-20 07:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[ a small yelp is drawn from her lips as barry pulls her into the room.

her back scrapes against the door, leaning back against it now that it has been closed. her eyes search his face and taking in the stress that resides there. he's thinking about that night, and he doesn't have to say it. the night of the particle accelerator. the night of lightning and change.

iris has never seen anything like this aether, though. a tint as red as blood billowing from the lab and outward.
]

I know.

[ she swallows. her voice is almost hoarse. ] Barry, I know.

[ but she had to come anyway. he couldn't have expected anything else. if he looks down, he'll find that she's wearing sneakers. they seemed more practical, what with her exploring wonderland, and nothing is amiss. her feet are still feet. her wrists are still wrists. iris is still iris. ] I'm fine. They're already containing it.
demonstrate: (distant.)

ACTION. | 🐻

[personal profile] demonstrate 2016-06-20 11:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[ iris is acutely aware of what happened the night he was struck with dark matter.

she may have been kept in the dark about barry's alter-ego for months, but she vividly remembers everything about that night. the nurse holding her back as she cried out his name. her raw panic as (she thought) barry's heart stopped. and every night that followed where she and joe would alternate shifts to watch him sleep, hoping he would wake up.

he never did.

her mouth parts and a reason doesn't leave it. it's not like he's wrong. he could've come to her as easily as she came to him. it wasn't absolutely necessary that iris risk exposure to reach him, but she didn't stop to think. her fingers wrap around his wrists gently, tugging on them so that he'll look at her.

she is okay, and that's a promise.
]

You were too slow.

[ her eyebrows lift in his direction, almost in challenge, but also in the hopes of easing some of his tension. ]
demonstrate: (faint.)

ACTION. | 🐻

[personal profile] demonstrate 2016-06-22 12:02 am (UTC)(link)
[ iris was so mad at barry and her father when she first found out barry was the flash. she was also mad at herself: for not figuring it out sooner, for being so oblivious to what was right in front of her, for the actions she took that led to eddie getting kidnapped. the anger didn't last, and it's because she knows deep down in her heart all they've ever wanted to do is protect her. keep her safe and from harm. but she also meant what she said when she told them to stop.

she isn't a meta-human.

iris has no special powers to boast of, and she isn't anywhere near as fast as barry allen. but she has also learned to be her own hero when she's had to stand on her own, if only to prove that she can. she has learned it's not about one person always rescuing someone else. they take turns in saving each other.

this is what people do when there's love and friendship: they save each other until they can save themselves.

she doesn't need to be reminded it was foolish. just like she doesn't need a reminder that barry doesn't mean to be slow most of the time. he takes the blame for things that are his fault and things that aren't. she wonders if that will ever change.
] Yes, Barry. I'm okay.

[ iris squeezes his fingers in hopeful reassurance. she leans against the door in relief. ]

I told you it was going to take more than a rabbit hole. [ not that she's eager to learn what would do her in. ]
demonstrate: (💟 200.)

ACTION. | 🐻

[personal profile] demonstrate 2016-06-23 01:59 am (UTC)(link)
We can use my room.

[ there's the slightest of pauses, and it's all too easy to miss. iris realizes how that might sound to anyone that isn't barry, she gives a small shake of her head. what she means is, her room didn't seem affected when she walked past it, and there's an interconnecting door between them. they wouldn't have to use the hallway. ]

My room is safe, I think.

[ okay, that sounds better. whenever barry flounders, iris is there to step up to the plate. she can come up with a plan of action when needed, if girder-turned-zombie is any indication. they find themselves in uncharted waters here in wonderland. it's no central city, and it's not meta-humans they're up against. ]

We can read the rest of the network post together, get more information on this aether and its containment process. Sound like a plan? [ she can go back to her notes and add aether to the list of things they're going to need to keep in mind. ]
demonstrate: (desk.)

ACTION. | 🐻

[personal profile] demonstrate 2016-06-23 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
[ her fingers tangle with his once more, and her tug is gentle as she leads barry to her room. much like iris suspected, it remains exactly as she left it. she doesn't know why hers would go unscathed when so much of the first floor took a hit, but iris has learned there won't always be satisfying answers in wonderland.

and you better believe she rushes toward her laptop, and a familiar clicking follows shortly. she'll let him pace if he needs to.
]

As far as I can tell, this aether is inside someone. [ which ... makes things trickier. it's not this person's fault, after all. ] Whoever Dr. Foster is, she's turned her lab into a containment room, but they aren't sure how to control the aether itself.

[ she chews on her thumb, and resumes her scrolling. ]

They're from a different world. We don't know if it's the same thing we've dealt with in the past.
demonstrate: (concentrate.)

ACTION. | 🐻

[personal profile] demonstrate 2016-06-23 08:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[ iris' room isn't a duplicate of the one back home. she wasn't detailed enough to request anything too familiar, and she has no interest in replicating the real thing. wonderland's mansion may be accommodating, but iris refuses to be lulled into a false sense of security, and she doesn't want to grow complacent.

that said, the room is unsurprisingly warm in its touches, with a hint of chic to it that's more iris than not. at the far back there's a small office space where iris keeps her laptop. she currently sits at the desk as she continues to gather information.
] We'd all feel different. With the particle accelerator, the consequences were immediate. [ add lightning to it and barry fell into a coma nobody could explain.

the more she reads, the more confident iris becomes. the explosion, while not innocuous, won't have any lasting consequences.

iris can feel him approaching from behind, and she turns sideways, angling her head upward to look at him. she places her hand on top of his once more, a mirthless smile reaching her face.
] I know why you're worried, but I really don't think we're dealing with the same thing.

[ it doesn't mean they shouldn't be careful, but it does mean wonderland is a whole different animal. ]
demonstrate: (understanding.)

ACTION. | 🐻

[personal profile] demonstrate 2016-06-24 08:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[ iris would love to assuage his fears, but they're too valid to dismiss.

moreover, she really does believe that fear can be a good and healthy thing — to a degree. it shouldn't paralyze them when they need to act. it shouldn't keep them from what's important. but fear can also let them know what risks are worth taking. fear kicks their survival instincts into gear, and that's what keeps them going when every other fiber of their being wants to lay down and call it quits. fear is what makes them push a little harder.

(iris isn't scared of dark matter. she's scared of time, even if she doesn't know it.)
]

We can jump now.

[ what? it would hardly be the first time. ]

We can stay outside until we know more, or check on everyone in the other floors. [ it'll be better than pacing a hole into the room. ]
demonstrate: (💟 020.)

ACTION. | 🐻

[personal profile] demonstrate 2016-06-25 03:52 am (UTC)(link)
[ iris places both of her hands on her lap. she studies him as he appraises every inch of her room. she almost doesn't know if he's looking for signs of danger or somewhere he can run toward that will finally show him the way. they've grown up alongside one another, as family and as best friends, but iris also knows there's a part of barry that's never left the living room where his mother was killed. she doesn't know if it's a part that he's ever getting back.

she's played along, so far. they've had extravagant feasts and they've explored wonderland to their heart's content. there's been laughter and word associations, even if she can sense that he's so far from happy that he's likely almost forgotten what that feels like. she's never not going to support him being the flash. she's never not going to try and give him the space and the diversion that he needs.

but she also doesn't want all of these things to come at the expense of barry himself.

she doesn't want barry to successfully tear himself apart in his grief and his doubt. while she acknowledges what he has suggested, and quietly agrees to wait until he's ready to leave this room, she's also regarding him with open eyes and:
]

Barry, when was the last time you even slept?
demonstrate: (kind.)

ACTION. | 🐻

[personal profile] demonstrate 2016-06-27 06:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[ she knows what he needs.

iris knows exactly what she'd do if circumstance allowed it: she'd reach out to henry, but henry is gone. she can't give him his parents back. she can't take away the hurting. she'll worry regardless, though. she doesn't find it necessary to hide the fact. he's been playing things off since day one. this is probably the answer she was expecting. she fights the sadness off her smile, reminding herself there's always tomorrow to try again.

barry allen isn't the only one who has to try.
]

Okay.

[ she closes her laptop. there haven't been new replies to dr. foster's post, as of yet, but she'll keep checking. ]

What should we do in the meantime?
demonstrate: (💟 128.)

ACTION. | 🐻

[personal profile] demonstrate 2016-06-30 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[ iris gives him a look, caught between amusement and seriously?

thing is, if she could close her eyes and immediately change the landscape of her room to make this croquet game possible, she would. barry was never a burden. the second joe brought him home, the second barry took the hand iris was offering him, the pieces clicked right into place. barry turned their household into a home again. wally's presence could never replace him. after all, barry has never been her brother, in spite of what some people like to say.

but he is family.
]

Oh, we're playing a game, all right.

[ just not the one he has in mind. they did agree to a word association rematch, didn't they? iris plops down onto the floor, crossing her legs until she's seated in a lotus position, and looks up at him expectantly. yes, she expects him to join her and play along. ]

Croquet.

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