Chapter 34: The Atom Arrives!

"My name is Marianne Moons, the Plasma Kat. My fiancé is named Barry Allen; he is the fastest man alive. When Barry was a child he saw his mother murdered by something impossible. His father went to jail for a crime he did not commit. Then an accident made both of us the impossible. To the outside world Barry is a normal forensic scientist but secretly he uses his extraordinary gifts to fight crime and to fight others like us. One day Barry and I will find who killed his mother and get justice for his father. He is the Flash." Marianne's voice says.


Two months had passed since Constantine was born. Though in reality it was only two months old, he was already learning to crawl. Anytime that it was just Marianne, Barry and Joe, Constantine would crawl around but whenever Iris would come by it was as if like Constantine knew that he had to act like an infant. Marianne and Barry wondered just when Constantine's speed would kick in. During their time last month fighting the Tricksters after Marianne had gotten back to work, they had revealed to Eddie that Barry was the Flash and that Marianne was Plasma Kat. It was then that the group decided to look into everything they knew about Harrison Wells considering Iris's mentor and coworker at Central City Picture News had gone missing and Barry knew that the guy had been looking into Dr. Wells before Barry traveled back in time.


"Alright, this is everything that we know about Harrison Wells, which is actually not a lot." Barry says as Constantine played in his playpen as he was lying on his back.


"Didn't you read a whole book about him?" Joe asks.


"Yeah, 600 pages, and the big takeaway is, he's an enigmatic." Barry says.


"Your mom was killed by a speedster. Wells' machine turned you into a speedster. That's way too many coincidences for this old cop." Joe says.


"He wasn't after Barry's mom. He was after me." Marianne says, "We were supposed to have a sleepover that night. The speedster thought that if he killed me, his greatest rival would never be born."


"Who's his greatest rival?" Joe asks and Marianne looks over at Constantine blowing bubbles with his baby spit, "The baby?"


"Constantine made me faster than Barry and the Reverse Flash when I was pregnant with him." Marianne says.


"But he's a defenseless baby now. You really don't think that he'd go after Constantine do you?" Joe asks.


"Since we found out that it might have been Wells I've been keeping Constantine very close to us. Barry and I do not leave Wells alone with Constantine at all." Marianne says, "Even if Caitlyn and Cisco are around."


"Good plan." Joe says.


"After all, no one can protect him like Marianne and I can." Barry says.


"Has he shown signs of powers at all?" Joe asks.


"No. Not yet." Marianne says and walks over and picks up Constantine, "Because someone is being a little stinker and won't show off."


"Ooh, emphasis on stinker." Joe says and waves his hand.


"Barry?" Marianne says, "It's your turn." Barry takes Constantine and quickly changes Constantine before heading to drop the dirty diaper in the nearest dumpster.


"Now that's just making things way too easy." Joe says.


"But it's fun." Barry says.


"I love watching him do that." Marianne says.


[Later That Night]


Barry rushes to meet up with Joe and Eddie who were chasing some people who robbed some other people. Barry had already been on a case about an indent exposure. He drops the guy in the back seat of Eddie and Joe's car.


"That ain't something you should be showing people." Joe tells the guy. Barry shakes his head.


"They're getting away." Eddie says.


"They're not getting away Eddie." Barry says.


"Let's take care of these bozos then worry about the idiots at the Shiny Diamond." Joe says.


"Alright." Barry says.


"But, we're going to run out of room." Joe says.


"I'll take care of that." Barry says and grabs Joe and drops him into the other car with the other crook while Barry drops the driver in the car with Eddie.


"Oh. That's what he meant." Eddie says.


"I think we lost 'em." The guy with Joe says.


"Oh, no, you didn't." Joe says, "And by the way, you're under arrest." The guy sees the cuffs on his hands and Joe chuckles. Joe and Eddie make it in time to Shiny Diamond to find Marianne already there tying up the bad guys.


"Hello, beautiful." Barry says as he arrives.


"Hey there." Marianne says.


"Nice work, Detective." Barry says to Eddie. Marianne giggles and she winks at Barry.


"Who's watching you know who?" Barry asks.


"Don't worry, he's fine." Marianne says. Eddie's phone goes off.


"I found him." Eddie says and Barry laughs as he looks at Marianne.


"What? She begged to take him for the night." Marianne says.


"Cool. How about take out?" Barry asks.


"Wait, you aren't actually going to let her keep him?" Eddie asks, "What if he? You know..."


"Don't worry. Our son is a very smart baby. He knows not to use his powers around his auntie." Marianne says.


[Later the Next Day]


Marianne stands with Barry looking over the crime scene while she had Constantine strapped to her chest. Barry and Marianne look over to see Joe and Eddie coming towards them.


"Seriously? He's coming to crime scenes now?" Eddie asks.


"Is Uncle Eddie a grumpy pants? Yes, he is." Marianne says talking to Constantine.


"We are perfectly capable of working and looking after our son. We got the okay from Singh." Barry says.


"Right." Eddie says.


"So, her whole body's covered in these puncture wounds you see on her face. Bite marks maybe. Whatever it was, she must have gone into anaphylaxis." Barry explains.


"Damn." Joe says.


"Yeah." Barry says.


"The blood sample should tell us everything we need to know. We'll run tests back at the lab." Marianne says.


"They can do it faster at STAR Labs." Joe suggests.


"Well, yeah, but, I mean, it's just..." Barry says.


"It's just what?" Joe asks.


"It's kind of weird being there right now." Barry says.


"Barry, you know we have to play it cool with Wells. If he finds out we suspect him—" Joe says.


"I know. I get it. It's my fiancé and son he's after really." Barry says, "I just think we should tell Cisco and Caitlyn. They could help us."


"The more people who know, the more chance Wells is gonna find out we're on to him. I mean, what if one of the slips up? Or panics? Or what if..." Joe says.


"What?" Barry asks.


"What if they're not on our side?" Joe asks.


"No. Absolutely not." Barry says, "They're not involved in whatever he's planning."


"I mean, Wells is their boss, their mentor." Joe says, "They've been with him for a long time. I've seen plenty of people make the wrong choice for loyalty. Please do not include them until we can be sure."


"Alright." Barry says.


[Later – STAR Labs]


"Death by apitoxin." Caitlyn says.


"Honeybee venom?" Harrison asks.


"Bees. Why did it have to be bees?" Cisco asks.


"Oh, I don't blame you for hating bees." Marianne says, "They are nasty little suckers."


"Y'all, I don't do bees." Cisco says, "Ain't nobody got time for bees."


"But when a honeybee stings, the stingers are literally torn from their abdomen, and they die." Harrison says.


"But there were no stingers in the body and no dead bees in the car." Barry says.


"A honeybee can only deposit .1 milligrams of apitoxin when it releases its stinger." Caitlyn says.


"And yet, Ms. Kang was found with enough venom in her system to kill a herd of elephants. It appears not only is the Meta-human controlling these bees but also increasing their toxicity." Harrison says.


"Bees communicate by releasing pheromones. Maybe this Meta's controlling them through secretion?" Marianne says.


"Anyone want to join me in getting a beekeeper suit?" Cisco says.


"Yes please." Marianne says.


"I'm pretty sure I can outrun a bee." Barry says.


"Just don't run into a lake." Felicity's voice says and everyone looks over to see Felicity standing there, "Bees will wait for you to come up for air and then they'll sting you. Discovery Channel. Turns out there's a lot to discover."


"Felicity!" Marianne says, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"


"Can you guys come outside for a sec? I will gladly take my godchild." Felicity says.


"Wait, you made Felicity, Constantine's godmother?" Cisco says and looks at Caitlyn, "Are you insulted?"


"Nah. They told me." Caitlyn says. Marianne passes Constantine to Felicity as the group head outside. They stand outside and Felicity stares into the sky.


"What exactly are we waiting for, Ms. Smoak?" Harrison asks.


"Up there." Felicity says and points up with her free hand.


"Is that a bird?" Caitlyn asks.


"It's a plane." Cisco says and a guy in a strange suit lands in front of them and Constantine starts crying so Barry takes him.


"It's my boyfriend." Felicity says.


"Hi!" The guy says, "I'm Ray."


"Ray as in Ray Palmer?" Marianne asks.


"Yes." Ray says.


"Uh-huh." Marianne says and she turns to look at Barry.


"You know him?" Barry asks.


"Heard of him but that's it." Marianne says.


[Later]


Caitlyn checks out Ray while Felicity plays with Constantine. Marianne and Barry stood smiling at her.


"He's soooo cute! Looks more like his daddy than his momma in my opinion." Felicity says.


"Yeah, the Allen genes are strong with that one." Cisco says.


"Shut up, Cisco." Marianne says.


"Marianne Moons, are you jealous that Constantine looks like his daddy rather than his mommy?" Felicity asks.


"No." Marianne says.


"Little bit?" Barry asks.


"Okay a little bit." Marianne says.


"But you should have warned us you were coming." Barry says looking at Felicity.


"I did. Did it not send?" Felicity asks and she pulls out her phone, "Ooh, I didn't hit send."


"Wow, the tech genius wasn't very techie?" Marianne says.


"It was an accident." Felicity says.


"Well, my ears popped so that something." Ray says.


"You're lucky you didn't break your neck." Caitlyn says, "What is with billionaires being superheroes?"


"So have you... picked a name yet?" Cisco asks.


"I'm kind of partial to 'The Atom'." Ray says.


"Your ATOM suit... it's quite the technological achievement, Mr. Palmer. I'm impressed." Harrison says.


"And he is never impressed." Caitlyn says.


"Well, thank you, but I can't quite seem to keep it up." Ray says.


"He means the suit." Felicity says before Cisco can make a joke.


"Yeah, I mean the suit." Ray says.


'You don't have a problem in the other department either.' Marianne's thoughts tell Barry and he looks at her. He could tell she wanted to laugh.


"Yeah. I can attest that everything else works just fine." Felicity says. Barry places his hand against his forehead as Marianne snickers.


"There's nothing we need to fix in..." Felicity says and Barry clears his throat.


"Uh, not around my child people." Barry says.


"Oh my god, there's two of them." Caitlyn whispers.


"Great. Um, I know from Felicity that you've been very helpful with Barry and the Flash suit, and uh, I was hoping to get another set of eyes on my..." Ray says.


"Problem." Felicity says.


"Problem." Ray repeats.


"Any friend of the Arrow's is a friend—" Harrison says.


"Hell, yes." Cisco says.


"Uh, guys. We kind of have a lot going on already." Barry says.


"Yeah, there's the meta-human killer that can control a whole swarm of bees?" Marianne says as she takes Constantine from Felicity as he was getting upset which meant it was time to eat.


"Cool." Ray says as Barry helps Marianne put Constantine in the little cover so she could feed him, "I mean, awful."


"I'm sure Caitlyn and I will provide ample support, Barry." Harrison says.


"And I will be happy to sit this one out." Cisco says.


"Ray, why don't you stay here and work on your suit while Barry, Marianne and I run to Jitters for a java?" Felicity asks.


"Sounds like a plan." Ray says. The three walk away.


[Later – Jitters]


"You know I got away from Starling City to escape the mood and brood but it looks like it followed me here." Felicity says as Barry carried Marianne's coffee to the table.


"I know. I'm sorry." Barry says, "It's like I said before, now is not the best time." Barry sits beside Marianne who smiles at him then looks at Felicity.


"Barry, I have been through enough with you to know when you're holding something back. Is this because I told Ray your secret?" Felicity asks, "Because he is trustworthy, Barry. He wants to help people, just like you two do."


"We know, that's not what we're worried about Felicity." Marianne says.


"Then tell me." Felicity says.


"It's..." Barry says and Marianne places her hand on Barry's.


"We don't want to put anyone else in danger." Marianne whispers.


"In danger of what?" Felicity asks and Marianne looks over when she hears Eddie's footsteps.


"Barry, Marianne, hey." Eddie says.


"Eddie, hey." Barry says.


"You remember Felicity?" Marianne asks.


"Of course." Eddie says.


"Hey." Felicity says.


"Great to see you." Eddie says.


"Yeah." Felicity says, "What is wrong with you? Is everyone in Central City in a bad mood? I thought Central City was supposed to be the fun one."


"It's um..." Eddie says.


"Iris and Eddie had Constantine last night." Marianne says, "Eddie might be tired."


"Felicity knows." Barry says when Eddie has a worried look on his face.


"Wow." Eddie says.


"Yeah." Barry says.


"So everyone but Iris." Eddie says.


"It feels that way." Barry says.


"How do you lie to everyone you care about?" Eddie asks.


"For starters, don't think of it as lying." Felicity says, "Think of it as protecting her from getting hurt... with a fib."


"But Iris can tell I'm hiding something, and it's putting this distance between us." Eddie says.


"I have an idea. Why don't we all go to dinner tonight? A little wine and dine is sure to bridge the gap." Felicity says.


"I'm in!" Marianne says, "Joe can keep Constantine tonight."


"Come on, we all had fun last time." Felicity says and Marianne looks at Barry and bats her eyes cutely.


"I..." Barry says and he catches Marianne's look.


"Sure. Why not?" Eddie asks.


"Alright." Barry says. Barry's phone buzzes from Caitlyn.


"Another bee attack. Folston Tech." Barry says.


"Felicity, you mind taking Constantine?" Marianne asks.


"I'll see where Joe is." Felicity says.


"Bee careful." Felicity says.


"For real?" Barry asks.


"Bad pun. For real don't die. I don't want to be a mother yet." Felicity says as she takes Constantine from Marianne. As Barry carries Marianne, Marianne unzips her jacket and pulls her mask up.


"Plasma Kat focus on getting the people out." Barry says as he sets her down outside. Marianne nods and ushers people outside. Barry heads to the victim.


"We're too late." Barry says.


"Where are the bees?" Cisco asks.


"I dunno. There's no sign of them." Barry says. Barry looks at the body and his eyes narrow as he watches a bee buzz on the corpse's mouth. Suddenly a swarm of bees come out of the guy's mouth and flies up.


"Found them!" Barry says and he grabs Marianne as he runs away, "How do I get out of here?!"


"Take the northeast crossway. It's the quickest way out of the building." Cisco says and they are stopped.


"Guys, they're everywhere. We're surrounded." Barry says and Marianne throws her force field on the two of them.


"I can't hold this forcefield on the both of us!" Marianne screams.


"I'll be fine, drop it off me!" Barry says and Marianne struggles before she's sent flying out of the window and Marianne takes off into the sky to try to get the bees off Barry. Barry races outside but the bees follow. Marianne flies over as the bees take off.


"Flash!" Joe yells and Marianne lands beside Barry.


"Barry, no, no, no!" Marianne says.


"He's going into cardiac arrest." Harrison says.


"Cisco! SHOCK HIM!" Marianne says.


"Alright, one second!" Cisco says and Marianne steps back with Joe. The others shock Barry and when the first one doesn't work, Marianne rushes over.


"I'm going to do manually!" Marianne says and she powers up her plasma and focuses it and she hits Barry with a powerful attack that shocks his heart and he gasps as he comes to.


"Barry!" Marianne says.


"I'm okay... I'm okay." Barry says.


"I felt your heart stop, you weren't okay!" Marianne says.


"Let's get you back to STAR Labs." Joe says.


[LATER – STAR Labs]


"I was very specific that you not die." Felicity says.


"Yeah, that's a pretty big thing for her." Ray explains.


"It's good to know that Marianne has the power to revive you." Harrison says.


"Well, the same lightning bolt that gave him his powers gave me my plasma so, it makes sense I am the world's strong defibrillator." Marianne says.


"Cisco, what happened out there? I followed your directions exactly." Barry says, "Marianne and I could have died."


"Why didn't they follow me?" Marianne says.


"Barry was an easier target." Cisco says.


"That makes sense." Marianne says, "I've never had my forcefield fail like that."


"You were afraid." Caitlyn says and Marianne looks over at Caitlyn, "I was looking at your vital signs and you literally freaked out."


"To be fair, she does have a phobia to bees." Barry says and Marianne's cheeks turn pink.


"But Barry, good news – the apitoxin is out of your body." Caitlyn says.


"Terrific." Barry says and Marianne squeals as Barry takes Constantine from Marianne, drops Constantine off with Joe and returns dressed in an outfit for dinner. Marianne was already wearing a nice dress.


"Barry." Marianne says.


"What?" Barry says, "We're going to be late for dinner."


"Are you sure that's wise, Barry?" Harrison asks.


"You just died." Caitlyn says.


"Dying makes me hungry." Barry says and Marianne slaps his arm as she laughs. Marianne and Barry turn and walk away while Felicity and Ray follow behind.

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