The Great Escapes

[run_barry]

Since Yamato offered to come to Central City and help with the epidemic crisis, things have been crazy, but handling them has been a whole lot easier now that Barry isn't operating alone.

He even got some rest in, on Yamato's orders, and they've got a bit of down time as far as emergencies in the city go so they're using it to work on other problems.

While Yamato recalibrates the S.T.A.R. Labs satellite to track the new meta they suspect is behind a whole bunch of the crime, and a death-trap or two set for Barry, Barry is getting his science nerd-amateur virologist on, trying to find a cure to the bug that has so much of the City down; including his team.

Sitting at a desk in the Cortex, Barry works away with a microscope taking notes on a tablet. Beside him are several boxes of chicken nuggets which he's working through, with a few empty ones already in the waste bin nearby.

In the middle of the space on the floor GP the porg is munching on shrimp treats while bopping around an inflatable S.T.A.R. Labs beach ball.

Comments

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"I can't tell if this is an elaborate joke or if you're actually serious," Yamato mutters, arching an eyebrow. "Because that actually sounds like the worst thing ever."

[run_barry]

"Totally serious. You were like, forced smiling and talking about autograph sessions. What was your name...?" Barry looks up at the ceiling, trying to remember.

"It was something random... Oh! Indigo Fang, with some kind of hero agency. White Lion? Or Tiger? Something like that. And hey, Coca Cola was sponsoring you, so I guess you weren't doing too bad."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato just slowly sinks his face into his hands.

"If I ever meet that version of me, I'm going to punch him in the face, just so you know," he grumbles. "He sounds like an asshole."

[run_barry]

Barry laughs again, clapping his hands together.

"No, he was cool. Super angry, definitely got the feeling off of him that he wanted to punch just about everyone, but he seemed okay."

Barry did feel a little bad for the guy, considering how unhappy he seemed, and still has feeling over the whole hero business thing.

"The real point is, if you've got a doppelganger on another world who's a superhero, it's not that far of a stretch to see you in a suit and mask, right?"

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"I'm still not wearing a supersuit and a mask," Yamato replies. "Never going to happen. I don't care if every alternate version of me in the entire multiverse is wearing one, I'm not going to."

[run_barry]

"Whatever you say, Indigo," Barry replies, giving Yamato a thumbs up.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Don't you dare," Yamato says, looking up and jabbing a finger at Barry. "Don't even think about giving me the damn Coca-Cola Hero's name. That's just as bad as Digi-Dude or Sailor Yams."

[run_barry]

"Glad you said that, because I wasn't sold on the name, either." He'll have to just keep thinking it over, that's all.

Maybe it'll come to him while they're in action. Speaking of which...

Looking at his arm, Barry examines the wound with his fingers and nods.

"Think I'm ready to get these stitches out. Then I guess we go."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"You really do heal fast," Yamato mutters, shaking his head. He whistles a few bars of a song, and the surgical kit materialises in his hands. "Okay, let's get them out, then."

[run_barry]

Barry gets up, pushing his shirt sleeve higher to give Yamato better access to the stitches, then pauses.

"Wait... you mad?"

Barry did push the superhero name and suit teasing pretty far.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Hm?" Yamato glances up, a little surprised. "Nah, Gramps, I'm not mad at all. Kind of amazed at how quickly this has healed, though. I knew you healed fast, but I didn't realise it was this fast."

He turns his attention back to Barry's arm, gently pulling up one of the stitches with a pair of tweezers and cutting it, then tugging on one end to start pulling the rest of the stitches free.

[run_barry]

"Alright, it's just-- you weren't exactly gentle before," he says, then gives up his arm to have the stitches removed.

"Won't scar, either," he notes, watching the stitching come out. "It does take extra resources, though. The time I shattered my hand I had to up my intake a lot, with extra calcium and vitamin D thrown in."

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"There isn't exactly a non-painful way to remove something embedded deep in your arm," Yamato says, wryly. "Besides, I learned all of the stuff I know about field medicine from Jyou, and he's never been one for being gentle."

He arches an eyebrow, cocking his head. "Make sure you drink another digi-juice before we go, then. Keep your strength up."

[run_barry]

"True, but y'know we do have better tools than pliers around here," he replies, returning some of that wryness.

When Yamato finishes up Barry inspects his arm, flexing it a bit. There's still a slight pull, but nothing he can't live or work with.

When Yamato tells him to drink another juice Barry almost points out that he's been eating and drinking since they got back here, but instead he just agrees.

"Will do. So... you ready?"

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Nothing wrong with a good pair of surgical pliers," Yamato replies, shaking his head as he packs up the surgical kit again. "Although if I'd known you had something better than that, I would've used it instead."

He hums a few bars, and his armoured jacket -- a rather unassuming thing that looks more or less like a bottle-green motorbike jacket with a hood -- appears. He slides it on quickly.

"Ready."

[run_barry]

Barry is bemused, but rather than harp on it he lets it go and says, "I guess I'm just glad you were able to take care of it for me."

Doing it himself would've been difficult, and probably wouldn't have turned out so well.

Seeing the jacket, Barry's gone, and then he's back again now wearing the suit with a new undamaged jacket.

Juice bottle in hand, he asks, "Where does that stuff come from, anyways?"

He gives a nod at Yamato, indicating the jacket and the surgical kit that seems to be gone now.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"It's some kind of inventory system built into the wrist computer, so another thing I can thank Milliways for. We don't have anything like this in my world or anything," Yamato says. "It's kind of awkward, though. Every time I put something new in it, it spits out a melody that I have to learn and then repeat if I want to get that item out again. If you ever met Autor, the same dude gave him something similar, except his worked on Shakespearian couplets."

[run_barry]

"Huh," Barry replies, a little baffled. "Who was this guy?"

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Loud, yell-y kid with grey skin, horns, possibly a compulsive need to help people out. Set up the T-Minus network, too. I haven't seen him around for a while, though."

[run_barry]

That description raises more questions than it answers, but Barry decides now isn't the time.

"Right."

Raising the bottle of juice, he drains it quickly then give Yamato a nod.

"I guess we're set then, let's go." Without anymore preamble than that, Barry throws an arm around Yamato's shoulders and they're off; speeding from the Labs in a whoosh.

A short while later they drop out of running and come to a neat stop a hopefully safe distance away from Camera Commander's hideout.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato has a second to brace himself for that sudden jolt of speed, but he still doesn't much enjoy it. Being sped around with no control over where he's going and no way of getting his bearings is exactly his idea of a bad time. He doesn't complain, though, because -- well, how else would they get there, when using Barry's speed is the quickest option and the one least likely to get them noticed.

"Okay," he says, bringing up a holographic display from his wrist computer. "If we approach from the east side, you can run us up to the roof without any of the external cameras seeing us. From there, we head down the maintenance shaft to the top floor. No cameras there, so we can get to the computer room easily enough."

[run_barry]

Running is still exhilarating for Barry. Every time he gets to pour out speed it's awesome, and while he's tried to temper the showing off recently, it's still impossible not to get excited, especially because Yamato is here and this totally counts as a team-up.

While Yamato brings up the display and goes over things, Barry studies Yamato intently.

"What about the Green Hood?" he asks, because of the jacket, obviously.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

"Not unless you want me to start calling you Red Mask," Yamato replies, his tone turning a little wry even as his expression remains serious.

[run_barry]

"Yeah, no," he replies, dismissing that notion quickly.

Focusing up, he glances over the map and nods.

"Okay, got it." And they're moving again, the circle around the building they take totally not because Barry momentarily got east and west mixed up.

When he finally does cut in towards the building it's from the right direction and they run a straight line for it, no speed lost at all in changing from a horizontal heading into a vertical one up the wall.

When they reach the roof they come to another stop.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

Yamato tenses up a little as they move, but he relaxes pretty quickly once they stop.

"The whole running up walls thing is pretty cool," he says, conversationally, switching the map to a blueprint of the building.

"Okay, the maintenance shaft is near the centre of the rooftop. It's narrow, but we won't be in it for long," he says, crossing the roof until they eventually reach a slightly raised section with a trapdoor set into it. It's locked, but it doesn't look that sturdy. "If you'd like to do the honours."