The tall blonde woman sits down in the chair, crosses her legs, and sighs, “Another official debrief? I mean your agent was there for this one!”

The man in the black suit adjusts his dark glasses, “We are also curious as to what you were doing for the months since you left the army base and when our agent contacted you with the warning. You were not seen collaborating with any other heroes that we know of. Surely Phoenix couldn’t have been taking all your time?”

“I was still under cover back then and trying to keep my old job as a Forensic Chemist. Between that and heroing I was very busy for months. If I hadn’t had superspeed I never would have made it. I did wonder how the others managed then. Now of course I know that they don’t try to hold down normal jobs. A few like Terra don’t even bother with secret IDs.”

She gets up and helps herself to a cup of coffee and some donuts, “Alright let me start at the beginning and tell it through. Do you have a recorder going because I’m not going to say all this twice. I mean do you have any idea if the number of other things I could get done in the time it takes me …” She shook her head, “Never mind, you probably do. I don’t doubt that someone has calculated out precisely how many iterations I can perform of any given task in a minute and I am grateful for your warning.”

The agent nods, “We are of course recording.” He grins briefly, “I suppose impatience is an understandable or perhaps even mandatory side effect of your abilities Ms. Allen but the sooner you begin the sooner we can all leave and go home to our wives.”

“I didn’t want organized crime getting a foothold in my city and that drug was more of an abomination than most of them so I set up police radios at home and in the lab and had the lab tv always tuned in to the news, CNN if no other news was on.” She slips into the memory easily and her voice goes a little dreamy as she recounts the events.

“I was doing pretty well at mopping them up. I destroyed labs and tied up sellers and suchlike before I dropped them off at the nearest police station I always made them tell me from whom they got their stuff or orders. Your agents tell me that I cost them at least 80 million in that three month period. I was doing my flat out best to make them leave and stay out but first it seems all I did was make them decide to try a metahuman solution to their metahuman problem.”

“I first ran into their solution when the First Bank of Phoenix was robbed. I heard about it on the Police Band radio at my house and took off. Alena had helped me build a ‘secret access’ tunnel from our basement to a park nearby and I got into my costume along the way. “

“Once there I saw a woman in a yellow and green costume leaving the bank with a big bag of cash in her hand. Oh, and did I mention she was standing on thin air? Walking on it rather. She was calming walking off as if she was on a sidewalk rather than at treetop level.” Barbara shook her head, “It freaked me out.”

“I ran up until I was under her and looked around for anything that might be supporting her. She stopped walking and just stood there giggling as I searched.”

“Trying to look up my skirt hero?”she said. Her hair was bright red and her skin pale and freckled. She wore a green domino mask and a long tunic over green tights. Or it may have been a sleeveless dress, I’m not sure.

“I’m trying to figure out how you’re doing that,” I answered.

“It’s a trick,” she said grinning. Then she started walking away again.

“Wait!” I called out frustrated that there was no way I could reach her.
“Why?” she said and giggled, “Didn’t get enough of a look?” She lifted the back of the dress/tunic thing and wiggled her ass. Nothing was really showing but I blushed anyway. She laughed aloud then, “You’re fun! What’s your name hero?”

“The Flash,” I replied. “What’s yours?”

“You can call me the Trickster!” she said as she pulled an egg shaped object from her purse. “Don’t try to follow me Flash, or I’ll have to drop this little surprise on you,” she added then she ran away through the sky.

Of course I followed her. I was easily keeping up with her when she said, “Bombs away!” then dropped the egg.

“I batted it out of the air without stopping and it exploded into more marbles then I’ve ever seen. I lost my footing and tried to recover but I couldn’t. I probably looked like the world’s fastest klutz out there. By the time I had my balance back she was gone.”

“Didn’t you try to contact any of the other heroes through your ring?” The agent asked.

“I’d heard Jade was gone and I’d seen Alena leave orbit on tv and they were the only two heroes that I’d actually met. I could have contacted one of the others I suppose but I didn’t know them and more I felt that Phoenix was my city and that I should be able to defend it by myself.”

I shook my head, “It was probably arrogant of me but I was even less of a team player back then. Running is a solitary sort of sport you know? Even if there are people around you they aren’t talking. Each of you is concentrating on where you put your feet and in keeping your breathing even. So I just went home and talked to Iris.”

She told me it was only natural that I’d eventually run into another metahuman. Neither of us knew then that she’d been brought to Phoenix and paid to distract me and take me out if possible. She probably could have killed me that first day but she was having too much fun making me look stupid and stealing extra money to do it right away.

The next morning a federal agent showed up and told me there was good reason to believe there was a hit out on the Flash. I scrutinized her I.D. and decided she was genuine.

“I think it’s another metahuman but I can’t be sure,” she said.

“I ran into one today but she seems much more interested in escape than harming me,” I said then told her about my encounter with the trickster.

“She has worked for Organized Crime before but as far as I know she isn’t a hitman. She might drive you nuts or to leave the city just to get away from her but she doesn’t kill for them.” The agent frowned, “Then again she’s got a rep for doing anything for the right amount of money and I hear you cost them nearly a hundred million dollars so they’d really want you gone.”

I looked at her in astonishment, “How much?”

“Yeah, you’ve been hitting them where it hurts most and they’ve learned thugs can’t stop you so they’ve brought in what they euphemistically call ‘talent’ to take care of you.”

“Let me get Iris,we need to talk about how we’re going to respond to this,” I got up and she grabbed my arm.

“What to do? I’m here to take you to get a new identity that’s what! We’ll work with the witness protection system and get you a new I.D. somewhere else. It would be best if you left Iris for her own safety but if you both insist we can...”

I interrupted angrily, “I’m not going anywhere! If you want to help you are welcome but scum like them are NOT forcing me out of my home! And as for your suggestion of leaving Iris …” I spit to the side, ‘that’s what I think of it. We’ve discussed that thoroughly and I won’t insult her by making that decision for her. She’s as much an adult as I am and I would be lost without her.” I looked at her grip on my arm, “Now are you planning to let go or were you going to kidnap me from my own home?”

She sighed and let go, “Of course not Ms. Allen.”

“Doctor Allen,” I corrected.

She nodded and stood up, “Doctor then, if you are adamant staying I’ll see if we can scare up some help for you.” She handed me a card, “If you need to contact me for any reason, please call this number.”

I walked her to the door, “Thank you for the warning, Agent Smith.”

“You’re welcome Dr. Allen.”