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You should be thanking me. There is much worse that I could do to you, and have no doubt that I shall if you do not cooperate with me fully.

[And for that you get another punch, Barry. Enjoy that gutful of knuckle sandwich.]

First of all, me hitting you in the shoulder is really that painful? And second of all, you totally deserve it.

[Barry glares at Jane.]

I'm sorry I didn't warn you I was going to pick you up, but you know Snart's gun was kind of pointed at you.

[Barry doubles over and groans softly.]

If you'd let me know what you want me to do, punching me would make a lot more sense you know. Kind of hard to work out what you want if you just start hitting me.

[Exodus stands over him, folding his arms. He continues to hold Barry in place with his telekinesis, preventing the speedster from simply running away.]

I understand that many of my brothers and sisters now sit in cells because of you. Consider this your punishment on their behalf.

[And what's this? Another punch? Why, yes. Yes it is.]

[Don't you dare glare at her, Barry Allen. She'll put hands on hips and glare right back.]

I know that, but I told you I figured out a way to counteract it! I just needed a few seconds to get it up and running.

[Oh he's going to glare, he's had the retread day from hell and while Jane is safe, Joe has a unbroken leg, Captain Singh is aright and Eddie seems to not want to kill him anymore there is still Iris and his concerns about Doctor Wells to worry about.]

We didn't have seconds left you were gonna become a Jane ice pop if I hadn't grabbed you.

[She hadn't realized she was that close to becoming a Janesicle. As usual, she was focused on the science and not on what was going on around her.]

Well, then...

Thanks. Sorry I hit you.

[Barry manages a smile and shrugs. Jane is really sweet and if he's being honest getting punched isn't the worst thing that's happened to him today.]

It's okay Jane...you at least aimed for my shoulder, Eddie just went right for the face.

[She winces at the reminder of what happened to him earlier.]

I think I might be too short to reach your face.

[When in doubt, tell a self-deprecating joke.]

[Barry laughs and nods.]

I'd have to help you do it and then it wouldn't be a punch then would it?

[He shakes his head.]

I'd rather not mess up the one friendship that's still working thanks.

Just wait until I invent hover boots, then they'll be no escaping me.

Barry, you're gonna have to do a lot worse than saving my life in order to screw this up.

Okay I may have to take away your science card, hover boots do not work.

[Barry sighs as he leans against the desk.]

What if I told you I may have done something worse....or that someone else did?

Just because they haven't so far doesn't mean they won't in the future. If anybody can do it, I can.

[Jane's brow furrowed at his comment.]

What do you mean?

[Barry nervously glances around the lab.]

I think...and Joe thinks Dr. Wells may have killed my mom. There was this reporter guy and he was looking into Wells for some reason...now he's missing.

[Jane is dumbstruck. She hasn't known Wells for very long, but she can't imagine he would kill anyone, especially not an innocent woman.]

What makes you think it was him?

Edited 2015-03-29 18:13 (UTC)

Joe says he moved to Starling City a month after my mom died because his wife died in a car accident. And you remember Simon Stagg....Wells was the last person to see him alive and now he's missing too.

The Pipeline? You do realize the people there did something to deserve being there right? Also I doubt they are all related to you.

Aye. Those the humans call freaks, outcasts, metahumans, mutants-- they are all my brothers and sisters.

You too could have been my brother, Barry Allen, had you not chosen to work against your own kind.

[Barry glares his blue eyes sharp with anger.]

I'm not working against anyone I'm trying to protect the city...everyone in the Pipeline is there because they's hurt people.

[Exodus meets Barry's stare coolly, indifferent to his anger. He has a mission to carry out here and that is what matters.]

There is more at stake here than a single city, Barry Allen. Much more. What you have done, you will now set right.

You are going to take me to the Pipeline. You will open the way, because if you do not those men and women who work there will be killed. Together, we will enter the Pipeline and release its prisoners. And then you will accompany me to Avalon to face your rightful judgment.

Stagg? Come on, what could Dr. Wells do from that wheelchair? Even if he hurt someone, how would he move the body? It's just...

Why are you telling me this?

[He must trust her, and that makes her feel good. She can only conclude that he wants her help in finding proof.]

I know, I know people keep pointing that out but he wasn't always in a wheelchair and he does seem to have secrets.

[Barry sighs. He can't really admit that Iris wasn't the only person he'd kissed on the day that never was. He'd learned his lesson on that score. Why was his love life so complicated?]

I'm telling you because I trust you...and you help all this crazy stuff make sense.

Well, no, he wasn't...

[Wouldn't that be a mindblowing piece of information? Yes Barry, better to keep that one to yourself. But the trust, that makes her happy. And regardless of which of them initiated that kiss on the day that never happened, in this timeline she's okay with letting her feelings stay on a slow simmer.]

That... means a lot to me. Is there anything I can do to help? You deserve to know the truth about what happened to your mom, whether it was Dr. Wells or not.

[Barry smiles.]

Is there any way you could find out about a woman named Tess Morgan for me? She died the same night as my mom and Dr. Wells claims he was in the car with her. If he has an alibi then it might explain why his blood wasn't in my house. And that's the next thing....the blood found with mine is super rare AB negative can we find some way to find a match for it.

Sure, I'll see what I can do. You know research isn't really my forte, right? I just don't want you to be disappointed if I don't find much.

[She knows how much finding out the truth means to him. She reaches and takes his hand.]

We'll figure out what happened, one way or another.

[Barry looks down at their joined hands and smiles remember another moment where they were like this.]

You sell yourself too short Jane....you are amazing and smart and you can do anything you want.

Well, when you put it that way...

[She's definitely blushing and she hates it, but can't help it. She's such a sucker for flattery. His hand is also really warm and she's aware she should probably let go but doesn't want to just yet.]

What I want is to see this mystery solved so that you can move on with your life.

I don't know if I'll ever just move on but...I'd like to try. It's defined my whole life mine and my dad's. I'm ready to let go.

That's a good place to start.

I haven't told you much about what my life was before I came here, but what Central City has given me is exactly what I'm talking about. A new start, and a chance to leave the past and it's pain behind.

Would you tell me a little bit about what brought you here....I've always been curious.

[And that makes the perfect opportunity to take her hand back, because now it's just getting awkward.]

I was in New Mexico studying Einstein-Rosen Bridge phenomena. Wormholes. One of the metahumans that you caught, the one who can teleport, could shed some light on my research.

Peek A Boo? She seems pretty open to talking now that her boyfriend isn't in the picture anymore. I think unlike the other meta humans she is getting bored.

[He smiles.]

Be careful though Hartley getting out made Dr. Wells kind of touchy about any of us talking to the others.

Yeah, her. Talking to her won't help me much. I need to actually study how her ability works. My theory is that she's essentially creating a wormhole just large enough for herself then closing it as soon as she's through.

I tried building a machine to do exactly what she's doing and it failed. She could hold the key to figuring out what I did wrong.

I suppose if we're careful maybe we could let her out for a while so you could study her. I mean you are helping me with Dr. Wells. We just need to figure out how to keep her from getting out.

If we're going to be investigating him, I think it's probably not a good idea to risk pissing him off. She's locked up for a good reason and I don't want to be the one who lets her escape by accident.

I still have a lot of data to analyze just from what's been observed already. I appreciate you wanting to help me, though. That's sweet of you.

[Barry smiles and ducks his head shyly.]

I like you Jane...a lot. I want you to stay around because I feel like you are the only person I can trust right now.

[Did she just hear that right? And if she did, does he mean what she thinks he means?]

I'm not going anywhere, I promise.

You know, if we're going to be talking about this kind of thing, maybe we should do it somewhere else. Maybe over coffee?

[Yes, that's Jane thinking on her feet and working in a kind of date-type invitation there.]

Coffee would be nice...maybe we could grab something at Jitters and go to the park?

[He really doesn't want to sit in the shop and be reminded of how he messed up with Iris thanks.]

That sounds great. Then we can see if there's anyone eavesdropping on us.

[Right. She doesn't want the park because it's away from memories of Iris either, or because it's spring and beautiful outside.]

Hopefully we don't need to be that paranoid. I mean we are just going to be talking about science and work and stuff.

[Just talk about science? But it's SCIENCE! She gets excited and loud and and animated when talking about it.]

Right. And stuff.

[She smirks at him sweetly and looks around.]

So... should I drive? Or do you want to risk giving me whiplash?