Going Solo

[run_barry]

After some wardrobe repair in Milliways, Barry returns to the precinct to catch up with Joe, only to find Eddie is pitching his case about the Flash task force to Captain Singh again and Joe is mad after finding out where Barry got their lead from.

"He's a crazy man," Joe says about the Arrow, knowing now that it was him who came up with Roy Bivalo's name, and while Barry is still angry about what happened earlier with the arrows, he tries again to stick up for Oliver.

It ends as well as last time, with Joe no more convinced and Barry annoyed by the whole thing.

*****

Through with Joe's disapproval, and trying to avoid being hounded by Captain Singh, Barry leaves CCPD and heads back to S.T.A.R. Labs to check on the progress the team has made there.

Cisco seems to have the boomerang under control, although he's acting kind of dodgy and weird about something, and Barry finds out that Felicity had at least a general idea of what Oliver was going to do in their 'training session'.

"You knew he was going to shoot me?" Barry asks, incredulous.

"Whoa, it is practically impossible to tell when Oliver is making a joke," Felicity replies in her defense.

That doesn't mollify Barry much, even when he finds out that Felicity has hooked them up with facial recognition software in the Cortex.

When the new software gets a ping on Bivalo's whereabouts Barry isn't eager to call for backup, despite Felicity's insisting and protests.

"We should let The Arrow know," Felicity says, giving Barry an anxious look as he prepares to leave.

"I can handle this solo. I've done it before," he tells her, shaking his head to the thought of calling in Oliver.

"Barry, I really think you need to wait… " Felicity presses.

"Felicity, I don't need his help," Barry replies, sharp and blunt.

Before her or any of the others can try and argue him some more, Barry takes the suit and leaves in a gust of air; speeding off to handle Bivalo on his own.

*****

The address leads to an apartment that's being used as an art studio. The place is pretty creepy, dimly lit and full of drop clothes and canvases. Barry wanders around the space, caught looking over the jumble of eerie, eyeless paintings.

"I knew you'd be coming for me."

The voice startles Barry, and he looks around, trying to locate the man who spoke.

"I could see it in your eyes at the bank," Bivalo continues from somewhere within the maze of shadows and paintings. "When I turned those people against each other, it made you angry."

Bivalo steps out into the open and Barry reacts quickly. With a burst of superspeed, Barry slams into the man and pins him against the wall. The man's callous attitude over what he's done to other people makes Barry mad and he glares at the metahuman.

Bivalo just smiles and looks right back at Barry.

"Have some real anger," Bivalo says cooly, his eyes glowing a bright red.

Staring back, Barry's world is blotted out by that redness and he goes slack and stunned. Coming out of it, Barry blinks and rubs his eyes, getting rid of the angry hue and regaining his senses.

When Barry looks around the room Bivalo is gone.

[ooc: dialogue taken from episode 1.8]