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It’s ironic, isn’t it; she’s a criminal, has been her whole life, but as soon as she needs help she goes running to the good guys.
She rides her motorcycle halfway to STAR Labs and walks the rest of the distance. She doesn’t trust herself to finish the journey without crashing, falling, burning, especially with her vision blurred by hot tears and her hands shaking like they’re in a blender.
STAR Labs still has shitty security- really, with all of their expertise, you’d think they’d be able to rig up a proper alarm system. She’s halfway to the Cortex before anyone finds her.
“This is private property.”
The female scientist (Caitlin Snow, isn’t it?) stands with her hands on her hips, as though scolding a toddler. They stare at each other for a long minute before Lisa remembers she hadn’t removed her helmet when she parked her bike.
Her hair catches around her wet lashes and cheeks as she tugs the helmet off. Caitlin Snow’s face warps into an expression of concern as her face is revealed, and it’d amuse Lisa if she wasn’t so…devastated. Absolutely, unquestionably devastated.
The only person she’s ever truly cared about is gone, and she doesn’t even have a body to bury.
Caitlin Snow wraps her cold little hand around Lisa’s arm and directs her towards the Cortex, pulling up a couple of seats and calling for Cisco and somebody called Barry, telling them a Snart has come to visit. Cisco stalks into the room, his mouth opened around a snarky remark that won’t have any impact. He falls silent once he actually looks at her.
Although Caitlin Snow had called for ‘Barry’, he is nowhere to be seen. Instead, the Flash appears- it’s then that Lisa realises the suit had not been in the Cortex when she arrived.
She also realises that the Flash is named Barry. She thought he’d have a heroic name, like Alexander or Troy or maybe even Achilles. It makes sense, in a weird sort of way, that the Flash, Hero of Central City, is just an average citizen, probably living in a shitty apartment and working a tedious nine-to-five job. Lenny would have chuckled when he first discovered Flash’s identity. But she’ll never hear him laugh again, will she? Not now that he’s been evaporated into complete nothingness- that’s what Mick had said.
It’d been the first time she’d seen Mick cry, even if it was just one subtle tear. Crying for a lost comrade- how ridiculous, considering their line of work. They are (were) a family, though…not just a bunch of crooks who clump together to make a quick buck.
The Flash crouches in front of her and takes her hand in his dark red glove. “Your brother..."
He already knows…how does he already know? It probably has something to do with the Flash and Captain Cold being literal frenemies. It might also have something to do with the fact that between the two of them, the Arrow and the Flash have both teamed up with everyone in Rip Hunter’s odd little time-travel squad.
“Leonard has passed away,” Lisa says with the least amount of emotion possible. “Just to let you know.”
The Flash doesn’t even have the audacity to look shocked. He just nods sadly. Cisco and Caitlin Snow look at each other silently. Oh, so they know too. She was the last to find out.
The Flash stands up and turns away. “I know. I’m so sorry, Lisa. He sacrificed himself for the team- for the world.”
Lisa ignores the tear that drips down the Flash’s nose. He has no right to cry. “I didn’t want him to go. I just wanted him to…” She blinks hard- the first rule she’d learnt as her father’s daughter was to hide her feelings. Her father isn’t here, though, and neither is Lenny. “I wanted him to be my brother.”
“Lisa,” Cisco says, his voice low and thick. He bends down over the chair to hug her, hesitating as if to ask permission. She doesn’t care- her reputation is already ruined, not that it matters anymore- and reaches up towards him, clutching at his shirt and trying not to sob too violently. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose a brother.”
Months later, Cisco will come to Lisa in the same state, stumbling into her latest safe-house and crying himself to sleep in her arms. She’ll understand, will know the right things to say and how much bourbon he needs to knock himself out. They’ll bond over it and Lisa will attend his bereavement group with him for support.
Lisa isn’t a time-traveller like Len or Mick, though, so she doesn’t know this yet. All she can do right now is allow one of the few people she still trusts to hold her as her soul is crushed to dust.
