Raven's POV

After getting the hell out of that basement and back to S.T.A.R. Labs, everything started to catch up with me. It wasn't until then I remembered that I wasn't exactly in my own skin, and that I didn't have my own powers. I didn't possess speed, so of course, Barry had to carry me back, but I didn't have any reason to complain about that.

"Rave!" Cisco exclaims as he throws his hands into the air at the sight of me. "Thank goodness you're alright. There's only one Silver Trickster on this earth, and it's you."

I give him a half grin. "Thanks Cisco, but technically I'm not the real Silver Trickster-"

"Just accept my expression of happiness and move on," he tells me then, causing a smile to dance across my lips. If there was one thing I knew about Cisco, it was that he always knew how to brighten my day, no matter how shitty it might have been. "What happened to your wrists?"

I glance back down at them as Cisco walks around the computers, reaching for them. "She had put meta-cuffs on me, so I tried getting them off. I think it's safe to say that they're indestructible..ow!"

A hissing sound escapes my mouth as I yank my hands back, since Cisco had accidentally touched them. He gives me a sad look. "Sorry, I didn't realize they hurt that bad."

"They wouldn't hurt this bad if I could heal," I fade off, giving the floor a glare as if I was looking at my doppleganger. It was then I remembered something. "But I can switch bodies back with myself. You said that she's locked down in the pipeline, right?"

Barry nods his head as he crosses his arms. "Yeah, I took her there when I figured out who she really was."

"Then I'm going to take my body back," I start to march towards the exit, the pipeline being the only thing on my mind. However, I stop when Barry calls after me.

"Wait, Raven! Shouldn't we question her about this whole Wells situation before you switch back?" Barry calls. 

I sigh. "You're right...come on, let's get this over with. I want my damn body back."

-*+*-

"Well, well, looks like you found Mrs. Speedy," my doppleganger mocks as she crosses her arms, staring at the two of us through the thick glass of the cell. Seeing her standing there with my body enraged me, and I couldn't wait to get this over with so I could take it back. "You weren't afraid of the dark too much, were you?"

I shake my head, biting my tongue. "Listen here-"

Barry cuts me off before I completely lose it. "We'll be asking all of the questions, alright? And just know if you don't answer them or you don't answer them truthfully, then you'll be in there for a lot longer than you might anticipate."

She quickly straightens up after his statement. "Alright, Barry."

Hearing him say his name...that was like a punch in the gut for some odd reason. Her knowing his identity was enough of a worry, but it enraged me to know that she played my part; that she actually could have taken over my life. She could have taken Barry from me.

Barry groans slightly before getting down to business. "Why did you steal that jewelry the other night at the party?"

She answers it a little too quickly. "For the same reason everyone else does. Is it really that hard to figure out?"

I decide to step in. "Then explain to us all of those papers and maps down in your basement. You clearly have some sort of motive, so what is it? And why does it involve Wells?"

Barry and I pretty much already knew the answer this one, but I thought it'd be better to hear it from her herself. Her face quickly turns white at my question, but she stays silent. 

"What? Not so smart of a plan to lock me away down there with all of your secrets, was it?"

She glares at me. "A year ago, my sister was diagnosed with lung cancer. They caught it late, but they still told us that there was hope. Around that same time, I discovered my abilities. I could actually switch bodies with people. It wasn't long after I figured out that my sister's life was in my hands...that I had the power to possibly cure her. I decided to start small at first, just a few robberies here and there to get the money for her medical expenses. It was so easy...it's pathetic how easy it was. The treatment worked at first, but then all of a sudden, it was like everything did a 180 on us. Nothing worked, she was weak and tired, and I thought that she was gone for good. Somehow she's still holding on, barely, but I won't give up on her. The doctors have, I can tell, but I won't, that's for damn sure. That's when I got the idea on helping fund for a cure with the money I had stollen. I gave everything I have to the smartest doctors around..but they couldn't help. I knew Wells was her only hope, but he was dead...at least I thought he was, until I saw him here."

Barry and I glance at one another for a moment, sharing the same feeling. I still hated her for what she did to me, but hearing her story struck me deep. Maybe it was because I didn't have a sister to really care for, or it was because she did all of this for a greater good, but something about it made my hatred slowly melt away. 

Barry finally finds the words to say. "I'm sorry about your sister...but Wells, he can't help you."

"Why?" my doppleganger yells, desperation in her eyes. "Why not? He's the one who did this to me; he created all of us metas! He altered our DNA. He can find a cure to fix a simple disease-"

"It's not that simple," Barry cuts her off again, sadness in his tone. "Don't you think if he, or any of us, could cure something like that, we already would have? What happened to you and I was merely an accident. Our powers weren't given to us on purpose. I'm sorry about your sister, but we can't help you here."

She slowly backs away towards the wall, giving us that same bitter expression that had been there in the first place. "You just don't want to. You're exactly like those doctors...they don't believe in a cure. They only believe in their paycheck. Don't you think I haven't figured it out? Inventing a cure would only thin out their wallets, so of course they don't want to find one. As for you...you might be The Flash, but you're no hero. None of you are."

I stare at her for a moment, finding that brokenness in her that I once had. Her eyes search our faces before she stops at me, a spark igniting behind her eyes. 

"I don't know why I ever assumed that any of you could help me," she states before shaking her head. "You can't even cure what's going on with you."

Barry and I both furrow our eyebrows. "What?"

"Oh, don't play dumb with him, Raven." She quickly pushes herself up off the wall. "Something isn't right with you, and you know it. I can feel it. He could feel it too."

Barry looks over at me then as I bite my bottom lip, wondering to myself if what I have been feeling all of this time was something more. "Nothing is wrong with me."

"Right," she fades out, rolling her eyes slightly. "What do you call the constant ache, the sharp stomach pains, the inability to sleep? That's not normal, and I think you've convinced yourself otherwise. You're dying, Raven. I can feel it."

I feel as if there's a hole in my chest as I listen to her last few words. Barry seems just as astonished as I am, but I'm unable to utter any words. Instead, I slowly back away the cell, my eyes not leaving the two of them.

"I'm not dying..." I fade off, trying to convince myself that it was all in my head. "I'm not dying."

Before I can let myself hear anymore, I quickly turn and run off, leaving Barry and my doppleganger behind.

-*+*-

There weren't very many times in my life where I was actually scared. Hunter had raised me to be strong and fearless, so I learned at a young age to shut out the voices that screamed inside of my head about my fears. Up until last year, I wasn't even afraid of my own death; I embraced it, just like how he had taught me. But that changed the day Barry Allen had showed me the light, and like a light switch being turned on, I realized that my life meant more than just what Hunter had told me. 

This feeling hit me hard back when Barry had told all of us about flashpoint; how he saved my life the second time around. Without his undoing, I would already be a goner; dead, just like how Hunter had wanted for me to be. I was given a second chance. 

And now it felt as if it was getting ripped away from me.

Over the past few weeks after Hunter's death, I did notice a change in me, but it wasn't enough for me to really think much of. Of course there were the nightmares; the not being able to sleep. I blamed that on Hunter too, since it was his face after all that kept me awake most nights. The stomach and head aches had came next, but I didn't think much of those either. Everyone gets those from time to time.

But never did I think it'd lead to something like this.

After leaving the pipeline, I ran straight to my room here at S.T.A.R. Labs that I had stayed in so many times the year before...it felt as if it was my only safe haven. I found myself sitting on the edge of the bed, thinking about everything in regards to what my doppleganger had said. She had to be wrong; I wasn't dying. There was no way my second chance was going to be ripped away from me. 

I blink as I stare at the tile flooring, hearing someone come in through the doorway. I slowly look up then to see Barry there, no longer wearing his flash suit. Instead, he was wearing his regular clothes, which consisted of that khaki jacket that I thought looked nice on him. 

He doesn't say anything at first as he slowly walks inside, finding a place next to me on the bed. His hands rest on his knees for a moment before he slowly turns his head, waiting for me to look at him back. "Raven, I know we've been through a hell of a lot over the past year, and I respect if you don't ever want or feel the need to tell me something, but..."

I turn and face him then. "What's happening to me, Barry, isn't something I thought was important. All I've experienced were the headaches, the stomach pains, and the not being able to sleep...nothing more. You knew about all of these things."

"But you didn't tell me how bad they really were," he counteracts me. "How often did these things happen?"

I hesitate to tell him the answer. "It wasn't as bad at first but...with time it grew to be worse. But Barry, trust me when I say that I didn't know that it meant anything about life or death."

He sighs for a moment as he lets his head hang, and I couldn't figure out what he was going to say next. I could tell that he was angry with me for telling him about what was going on with me sooner, for keeping it a secret, but he also had a heavy heart.

He finally looks up at me then, staring me in the eyes. "That doesn't matter anymore...what matters is that we're going to figure out what's wrong with you and fix it, okay? I won't let you die...not again."

I nod my head as I wrap my arms around him, feeling tears starting to come to the surface. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you...I should have, I know that now."

"It's okay," he whispers as he pulls me in tighter. "We're going to fight this, together."

-*+*-

Y!kes...so now Barry knows what's up, but I guess not really what's up because no one really knows what's up...wow thats kinda confusing.

BUT, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'm hoping to kinda start moving things along at a faster pace soon, since everything is kinda starting to fall into place *laughs evilly*

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