It was late.
The halls of STAR Labs were dark, quiet—just the soft hum of machines echoing in the distance. Everyone had gone home. Even HR had finally left the cortex, still muttering something about caffeine and rewriting his novel.
Barry stood alone.
His footsteps echoed faintly as he walked back into the corridor lined with pipeline cells. The glow from the control panel flickered over his face as he stopped in front of the one holding Dr. Light.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed inside, arms still crossed, her visor catching the light from the ceiling above.
Barry stared at her for a moment. No words. Just silence.
Then, calmly, he spoke.
"Take off the mask."
She looked up, cautious. "Why?"
Barry exhaled. Not tired. Not frustrated. Just… tired of playing games.
He vibrated.
It was subtle at first—just a gentle blur. Then, in one smooth motion, he phased through the wall of the cell like it wasn't even there. His arm moved fast, clean, efficient.
Her visor was gone in a blink.
He vibrated right back out.
The cell hummed behind him like nothing happened.
Dr. Light—Linda Park—blinked, wide-eyed, mouth slightly open.
She stood up. "I thought you said no one could use their powers in here."
Barry looked over his shoulder, that small, tired smirk curling across his lips. "Yeah. I'm built different. Don't dwell on it."
Linda didn't say anything for a second. She touched her face slowly, like she couldn't believe the mask was actually gone. Her real eyes stared at him now—no light tricks, no meta flair. Just her.
"What do you want?" she finally asked, tone wary, almost defensive.
Barry leaned against the wall beside the control panel, arms folded.
"I just want to talk. Get to know you."
She blinked. "Why?"
"Because you're not Zoom," he said. "And I know what it's like to be dragged into something bigger than you."
He paused, then glanced at her through the glass.
"I don't think you wanna be part of this. Not really. I think you're scared. And I think he's using that."
Linda didn't answer. But she didn't look away either.
Barry stepped a little closer, his voice softer now.
"I'm not here to interrogate you. Not tonight. I'm not gonna throw threats at you or force anything outta you. That's not my style."
He nodded at her.
"I just thought… maybe we could be friends."
Linda raised a brow, skeptical. "Friends?"
"Yeah," Barry said. "Talk. Laugh. Maybe help you break free from Zoom. You help me. I help you."
She scoffed lightly, arms crossed again. "You think I'm just gonna switch sides because you took my mask off?"
"No," Barry replied. "I think you'll switch sides when you realize you're not alone."
Linda stayed quiet. Her eyes dropped to the floor for a second, like she was thinking about something she hadn't let herself think about in a long time.
Barry looked at her with something different now—calm, human, patient.
"You've been running for a while, haven't you?"
Her voice came back low. "Since Earth-2 fell into chaos. Since Zoom started killing anyone who didn't bow down to him."
Barry nodded. "Then stop running."
She looked back up at him, unsure.
"I don't expect you to trust me right away," he said. "But I'll be here. Not as Flash. Just Barry."
Linda stared at him. There was still that guarded wall in her eyes. But behind it… something cracked.
Something small.
---
Outside the cell, Barry stood in the quiet again, hands in his pockets.
He didn't say goodbye. He just turned and walked away.
As he moved down the hallway, Linda looked back down at the mask in her hands—her own reflection staring back at her.
And for the first time in a long time, she didn't know who she saw.
Linda stood in the middle of the cell, the soft blue glow from the walls casting a faint light across her face. The mask felt heavier in her hand now. Like it carried more than just identity—it carried history. Pain. Mistakes.
She sat back down on the edge of the bed, slow. Her fingers moved across the smooth curve of the visor without really thinking. It was quiet again. That kind of silence that made you hear your own heartbeat.
She hated that silence.
But right now… she couldn't escape it.
Barry's words kept looping in her head like a song stuck on repeat.
"Then stop running."
She leaned back against the wall, her eyes tracing the thin seams where the glass met the metal frame. Her lips pressed into a line. Her mind, though—no rest.
She thought about the first time she met Zoom.
No… not met.
The first time he hunted her.
It wasn't some big recruitment speech. No secret handshake. He just showed up. Killed two metas in front of her like it was nothing. Said if she didn't want to be next, she'd work for him.
Simple as that.
She was scared.
Not brave. Not strong. Not clever.
Just scared.
And she said yes.
She looked down at the mask again.
How many people had she blasted through since then? She told herself she was surviving. That she didn't have a choice.
But Barry didn't look at her like a killer.
He looked at her like she still had something left inside her worth saving.
Her fingers curled tight around the visor.
"Stupid," she whispered to herself. "You don't even know him."
But… she kind of did.
The way he spoke. The way he didn't posture, didn't try to scare her or outsmart her. Just listened. Like he actually saw her.
No one had looked at her like that since… since before all this. Before Earth-2 burned. Before she became Dr. Light.
She slid off the floor and walked slowly to the glass, staring out at the empty corridor.
No one there now. No orange lightning. No judgment.
Just space.
Her reflection stared back at her again. This time without the mask.
Linda.
Not Dr. Light.
That name felt strange now. Like a shirt that didn't fit anymore.
She pressed her forehead gently against the glass, closed her eyes.
Maybe… maybe this didn't have to be her whole life. Maybe the guilt didn't have to eat her alive.
Barry said friends.
That word hit harder than she thought it would. Like a warm breeze through a cracked door.
She hadn't had one of those in years.
Back when she still worked at Jitters on Earth-2. Back when she still had dumb dreams and bad jokes and late-night walks through the city just to hear the street sounds.
She missed that.
She missed herself.
A quiet breath slipped from her lips as she leaned back from the glass.
Then she sat again, this time slower. No tension. Just thinking.
For a long while, she didn't move.
But her grip on the mask loosened.
---
Somewhere else in STAR Labs, Barry sat in the cortex with the lights dimmed, just sipping cold coffee and looking at Linda through the screen.